Super Smash Bros Revolution: The Beginning (Series 1)
by AncipitalBlade
Summary: The beginning of a story based on the popular video game, in which the Mario Bros. are invited to a Mysterious tournament which will act as a harbinger to battles that will shape the fabric of reality and future events to come. Will the brothers last long enough to see the true enemy that lies before them? *Perspectives tend to shift, and Multi-Crossover.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: Hey guys, thanks for deciding to check this story out. It means a lot! A few things just for future notes. Most importantly, most things in this story happen for a reason, but as for when that reason is explained, it varies. Somethings may be immediately explained, and others take awhile do to the chronology of events. A major example for you is the first battle between the Mario Bros. and Mewtwo and Ganondorf. Now, we all know how powerful Mewtwo is compared to...well, a lot of people. But, rest assured that there is a specific reason for the outcome of the battle! What we're saying is, is that stuff doesn't make sense for the time being, give it a bit of time, and it'll be elaborated on. Remember, this first series is merely the beginning! Thanks, and enjoy!_

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_Super Smash Bros. Revolution_

Series 1: The Beginning

It was a peaceful day in the Mushroom kingdom, with clear skies all around. Birds were chirping and Toads frolicked around town, happily taking care of their various tasks. Towering over all the other mushroom-shaped homes and constructs was a large bright castle: a shimmering monument to the Kingdom's ruler, the benevolent and loved Princess Peach.

Before castle gates stood two figures, well known to the area. One stood shorter, but stalwart and commanding. He wore blue overalls and under it a red shirt, white gloves around his hands. His head was held high, and above his lip was his familiar trademark: a luxurious black mustache. On his head was a proud red hat, emblazoned with a red "M". His blue eyes glittered with confidence.

A Toad walked by and cried, "Hi Mario, hi Luigi!", waving.

Mario smiled, and waved back. The second figure stood next to him, and waved as well, though his expression far less confident. Physically, except for the green shirt, he wore the same blue overalls as his brother, and had a mustache himself. He even had a Green hat emblazoned with a green "L", the same as Mario.

Mario turned to the figure, and spoke good-naturedly, "Luigi! Calm down-a!"

Luigi gave a sigh of trepidation, and took a deep breath, and nodded to his brother. They continued to wait at the large gates.

"Who's there?" barked a gruff voice from the inner sanctum.

"It's-a me, Mario!" cried Mario, and Luigi also gave an exclamation of validity. The gates swung open, and there stood Toadsworth, the Princess's eldest advisor.

"Ahh, come in, Masters Mario and Luigi. The princess has been awaiting your arrival," he said, as he beckoned them inside. Toadsworth lead them through the elaborate staircases and structures and hallways to the dining room where Peach was waiting in her usual pink dress.

"Hello, Mario, Luigi!" exclaimed Peach. Mario and Luigi both smiled and waved at Peach, and walked toward the table. "Please, sit," she said. Mario and Luigi both nodded, although they both speculated about what she had called them there for.

"I received a letter addressed to you, Mario," She continued.

"Hm?" asked Mario, pondering who it could be from. Peach got up, and from her dress pulled out an envelope sealed with an insignia. "Do you recognize it?" Mario shook his head.

"AH HA!" roared Toadsworth suddenly." This is probably Bowser's work, no doubt about it! That bloke's name is written all over this plot!"

Peach shook her head, and replied, "I don't think so…" She handed the envelope to Mario, and waited patiently for him to open it. Luigi also looked curiously at the envelope. He and Mario took note of the strange insignia marked on the envelope. It was oval shaped, but the symbol appeared to have two lines cut out of it, leaving the impression of an asymmetrical lower-case 't'. Mario had never seen anything like it before.

He broke the seal, and from the envelope, took out a letter. He looked at it carefully, Luigi, Peach, and Toadsworth reading from his shoulder. It said the following:

_Greetings to you all from your various worlds! You've been chosen to participate in a 'special' tournament we call Smash Bros.! Through many steps too elaborate to explain, your "world" has been linked, or connected, to many different worlds who share more in common with you than you may think! We hope you will participate, as to be chosen for this tourney is a great honor. _

_The rules are quite simple. In roughly two weeks time, a tournament pitting you fighters against each other will be held. Worry not about the location; a method of transportation will be sent to you on the day of the tourney. The matches are tag team based, every fighter must have a partner, or he/she will not be allowed to participate. The winner of every bout will advance until there is only one team left, in which they will win a fantastic prize, as well as prestige! And don't forget, the glory of your world rests on your shoulders! If you choose to accept this invitation, record your name and your partners name on the blank "sign here" part of the sheet", and leave the letter outside of your location, so we may know who is participating! We wish you luck, competitor! _

They all finished reading. Mario looked slightly intrigued, but Toadsworth looked skeptical.

"I'm not sure, Princess. 'Special tournament'? Sounds like a load of coddlerot!" he said.

Princess Peach looked at Toadsworth, and replied, "Things such as this certainly have occurred before. Remember Sonic and Shadow? The rest of those from that other place we competed against in our Games?" , referring to a previous adventure they had with two hedgehogs, and other beings seemingly from another "world".

Toadsworth dubiously nodded, and replied, "I see. Regardless, it is the masters' decision, it seems…" Mario looked at Peach, who smiled back, indicating the decision was his.

Mario paused, and then signed the paper with his name.

"Good show, Master. But what about your partner?" asked Toadsworth. Mario smiled, and turned to look at Luigi….only to find that Luigi had vanished.

"Luiigi!" cried Mario, looking around. He turned and sighed as he saw a flower pot that appeared to be shaking. "Luigi!" yelled Mario, and he yanked Luigi from the pot the way one might have yanked up a bothersome weed that was soiling their garden.

"WAAAAH!" Before Luigi could protest, Mario quickly maneuvered Luigi's hand to sign the sheet, re-folded the letter, resealed the envelope, and began clapping is hand together as if completing a job well done. Luigi was in shock. His face quivered, and his mouth hung agape, unable to process what had just occured. Peach giggled nervously, but good-heartedly, and Toadsworth joined in. Mario smiled and cried, "Let's-a go!" as Luigi cried, "NOOOOOOOOO-A!' in the background…..

Two Weeks later…..

A Toad ran into Peach's castle, quickly exclaiming about how an anomaly had appeared in the front of the castle gates. Sure enough, as Peach stepped out to check out what the Toad was talking about, she saw that a golden warp pipe had appeared right in front of Peach's castle, bearing the same insignia she had seen on the letter addressed to the brothers. The Princess, having already sent for Mario and Luigi, stood near the pipe, dressed in her usual royal attire. Toadsworth stood next to her, standing as tall as he could with the help of his cane.

"I wonder what's taking the young masters," he asked.

Peach smiled, and replied, "I'm sure they'll be here soon. I –" she cut off as she saw something coming from the left. She turned, and all the sudden, there was Mario, looking worn out, but happy.

"Mario!" cried Peach.

"Master Mario, are you quite alright?" asked Toadsworth."You seem a bit bedraggled…."

Mario spoke quickly, telling about how Luigi tried to run away again and how he had to force his green clad brother to stay in a vicinity close to him, so as to not escape. Luigi was a few steps behind Mario, looking worn out as well, and Peach laughed at the sight, clearly able to imagine the scene of Luigi running away and Mario chasing him.

"We should get going," spoke Toadsworth, looking at his watch. Mario nodded, and looked at Luigi, and pointed at the pipe sternly. Luigi sighed sadly, and hopped into the pipe, disappearing into the black. Mario waved, and jumped in after him. Peach and Toadsworth followed suit until they were all obscured by the pipes total darkness.

They were expelled from the pipe in the shadow of a large silver stadium, massive in size.

"Mama mia…" said Mario.

"Quite a structure indeed," spoke Toadsworth. "Shall we find the entrance?" They walked towards the stadium, eventually entering a large doorway through ornate pillars.

"Wow!" exclaimed Peach, as the marble structures shone with an unbelievable luster. Beyond the grand entrance was a staircase that appeared to lead up into the stands. Peach beckoned, and Mario, Luigi, and Toadsworth followed. As they climbed stairs they began to hear a faint sound that grew louder, until they stepped into the outside stand area.

The roar was deafening, as spectators shouted. The group, through a quick survey, discovered they were in the lowest part of the stands, the first row, apparently being a standing area. The area was not nearly as crowded as the 2nd row or any other.

"Is this…?" asked Toadsworth, who looked at Mario.

Mario's eyes focused on the people in the first row, and his awe disappeared, replacing itself with a look of determination. He nodded, knowing that row one was specifically designated for competitors. A few of them looked at Mario, as Luigi cowered, who let a slight grin come to his face. They walked to the nearest two figures, one being a small being dressed in armor and wearing a mask that obscured his face, and the other, a pink orb shaped creature.

"Oh!" cried Peach. She ran to the pink ball, and petted his head. "Is this your pet?" she asked.

The Knight turned his head. For a second, he said nothing, but then, he spoke, "No, miss." All the sudden, the pink spud cried, "Hiiii!" and in a high pitched voice and smiled a big smile. Peach staggered back surprised.

"That is my partner, Kirby." He spoke in a rough dark voice. "I am Metaknight, a warrior of Dreamland."

Mario stepped forward, and introduced himself and Luigi. Metaknight fixed a gaze on Mario, and nodded. Kirby was still running excitedly around Peach, who was giggling.

"Excuse me, sir knight, but what is everyone waiting for? Has this tournament not started yet?" asked Toadsworth.

Metaknight responded, "It hasn't, at least not yet. But I assure you, the wait won't be long."

Mario continued to look around, and his eyes widened as he found the shape that was Bower. "Mama mia!" cried Mario. Bowser heard and turned to see Mario, and his mouth dropped agape, and Mario could see the flames of hatred spark in his reptilian eyes. They glared at each other for a few moments, and then turned away. Toadsworth looked like he was about to say something, but then the spectator's noise died down.

An orb-like robot had flown up from the actual arena part of the stage, hovering in the air. In the middle was a green "eye", which surveyed the first row. It turned to the farthest area nearest the stairway exit, and then from its eye exited a line of green light. It scanned Mario Luigi, just about everyone in that first row, exceptions being Peach and Toadsworth.

Then, in a robotic voice, it uttered, "PARTICIPANTS ACCOUNTED FOR," and dropped back out of view. From the staircase that Mario and co. stepped out from, a figure came out.

He was male, tall, had wavy and spiky black hair, and looked to be in his late teens. He had a slim build, and wore black khakis, and a white button up formal shirt, as well as black sneakers. The sleeve buttons were untied and his hands were in his pockets, giving him a laid back look. His eyes were jet black, but somehow still seemed to emit an eerie glow. On his hip, he carried a short sword in a jet back sheath, with a bit of thin rope tied to the lower half.

He looked around for a few moments, then yawned, and gave a slight smile, and said, "What's up guys?"

Then, he walked past Mario and company. Metaknight's eyes followed the figure; even Kirby was focused on him. The figure then stopped. He looked behind him, and looked straight into Mario's eyes with the same expression. That split second, Mario for a moment experienced a strange sensation, an experience that he couldn't explain in his mind's eye. The figure then turned and continued walking, as if absolutely nothing had happened.

The spectators were still eerily silent, and Mario felt it as well: despite the strangers appearance, his presence was a commanding one. Then the figure hopped of the 1st row, down into the stage. He paced around a bit, his hands in his pockets. He sighed, and then looked up at the spectators/everyone, and waved.

"Hey there! Um, my name's Tendo." He laughed embarrassedly. "I'm gonna be the guy calling out the fights, and stuff. If ya don't have questions, how bout we get these fights underway?"

He paused, and no one spoke. He opened his mouth to continue, but he was cut off by a loud roar from the stadium. He looked up in mild surprise to see the hulking shape of Bowser.

"The letter said there'd be a prize! You'd better not be holding out on us." A small figure jumped on his head, his son, Bowser Jr.

"Yeah!" he yelled. Tendo closed his eyes, and smiled lightly. "Bowser and son, right? Shouldn't you worry about winning the first round?" Bowser's eyes narrowed. Toadsworth stifled a chortle, and even Mario smiled. "But since you asked, there is a prize. I'll tell you more if you win."

He looked right into Bowser's eyes, who turned away, looking cross. Tendo turned away from Bowser, and then looked up at the spectators. "Ok, let's get started!" he shouted with a smile. The spectators roared their approval. "So how about we start off with…" He looked at the fighters in the top row, and his eyes stopped on Mario. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the light grin appeared.

"Mario, and his brother, Luigi." Mario stared for a second in surprise.

Tendo was waving him down like they were old friends, and Mario could think of nothing to say but, "Let's-a go, Luigi."

He leaped over the railing, and landed on the arena floor after a short fall. Luigi looked frightened out of his mind, and as he hopped down, he lost his footing, landing in the arena on his face.

"M-mama m-m-mia.", he muttered, the sound muffled by the cold, hard ground.

"Aaaaaand…" spoke Tendo, again looking at the 1st row. He stopped at an anthropomorphic creature, colored light purple and clearly not a regular being, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "You two. Mewtwo and Ganondorf."

The creature, Mewtwo, calmly leaped over the railing, and floated down, his arms crossed. Another dark figure, built well in the body section, wearing armor and adorned with jewels stood in the stands. With dark eyes, he leaped down as well, the figure of Ganondorf.

He looked at Mario and Luigi with utter contempt that reminded Mario of Bowser. Mewtwo stared at Mario as well.

"A Pokémon, and the enemy of Hyrule….heh, strange alliance." muttered Tendo with a sigh, but still that same smile. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Oh well. So, guys, nothing crazy, alright? The spectators are protected by shield aura, but no killings, or anything like that, k?" He chuckled.

"Anything to say?"

Mewtwo's purple eyes began to glow blue.

"Step Aside." A voice spoke in Mario's head. He turned to Luigi, who appeared to have heard it too. Tendo smirked, and leaped high into the air, landing on the railing of the first row, his hands back on his pockets.

"Whenever you're ready," he spoke, and the four drew back, preparing to clash in the first bout as the tourney began.

Ganondorf Mewtwo

Mario Luigi

Mewtwo's eyes glowed bright blue, and he flexed a hand at the bros, and all the sudden, Luigi was blasted to the side, flailing wildly, crying.

"Luigi!" cried Mario, looking at his brother, but in an instant, Ganondorf was right directly in Mario's face, lashing his fist forward. Mario raised his forearm just in time to block the punch, causing air course backwards from the collision.

"You seem to have more skills than your brother, at the very least," said Ganondorf darkly. He hopped back and spread his fingers, and dark energy coursed around his hand, and he smirked. "But it won't save you."

Suddenly, Mario was blasted backwards. He flipped, and landed on his feet. He let out an angry exhale, and charged straight at the two opponents in front of him. Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue once more, and suddenly, Mario was enveloped in a blue energy, and being lifted into the air. Surprise flashed across his face, and tried to fight against it, but to no avail.

"You can't break free." spoke Mewtwo telepathically. "My psychic power is far too strong for a being such as yourself."

"No!" cried Peach. She looked to where Luigi was, still unmoving from the blow. "Luigi! Help him!"

Luigi was trembling all over, but he wouldn't move, or couldn't. Mewtwo smirked coldly.

"He, too, is held down by my power." Mario kept struggling, but nothing worked. "Is this all you are? I admit, this is below what I expected from the fighters we were told would be here." he spoke silently. As he heard this, Tendo's eyes narrowed, as if something Mewtwo had said just wasn't right for some reason.

Mario looked down at Mewtwo, and the Pokémon was slightly surprised at the "fire" he saw in Mario's eyes. He closed his eyes and smirked, and suddenly, Mario fell to the ground. Luigi also, trembling, stood up, uncertainly.

"Huh?" asked Mario.

Ganondorf shook his head angrily. "You should have finished them off right there. You're far too soft, Pokémon."

Mewtwo turned to Ganondorf. "Don't patronize me, dark being. I want what was promised to me." His eyes glowed a slight blue. "You finish this one. I'll take the other: a fair fight to test the power of our enemies."

Mewtwo suddenly disappeared. Ganondorf was silent, his eyes narrowed, apparently angry, but he turned as well.

Mario looked around in shock, and saw the Pokémon standing right in front of Luigi. "Are you ready?" he spoke menacingly. Luigi eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and he shook his head in an apparent "no".

Mewtwo smirked, and all the sudden, Luigi was blasted skywards by a blue force. "Luigi!' cried Mario again, but all the sudden, once more, Ganondorf was in front of him, but this time, Mario dodged the punch, and retaliated with a punch of his own that was blocked. They both hopped back, and Mario leaped at Ganondorf, and side kicked at his head, but King of Evil moved his head to the left, grabbed Mario's foot, and heaved him into the air without hesitation. He leaped after Mario, and attacked with a kick powered by dark energy, creating a purple flare around his body.

Mario, knowing it was too late to dodge, brought both arms up to guard. As the kick met the guard, Dark energy flared outwards around both figures, as the guard seemed to be being penetrated by the sheer force of the kick. Mario struggled against the pressure, and Ganondorf began to grin as he felt his enemy weaken. A dark light began to fly from the point of contact of the two, and Mario's eyes closed…..then, his eyes popped back open, and from his two crossed arms, a red fire began to emanate outwards to intercept the dark energy.

Ganondorf's smirk faded, as the fire increased in size and heat until it was equal in size to the dark energy flying around Ganondorf's body. The energy swirled around both figures, creating a multicolored light that shone around the stadium.

Ganondorf now had an angry sneer on his face, and so did Mario. Finally, the energy dispersed around both figures, and Mario and Ganondorf met in mid-air with a flurry of blows. Finally, Ganondorf broke off, and kicked at Mario, but Mario dived downwards to dodge, and as he flew past, Mario grabbed his cape, spun several times to gather speed, and finally, threw Ganondorf back into the arena, causing debris to fly backwards, as well as dust to kick up.

As this happened, Luigi was in the air crying as once more, and blue light enveloped him, and pushed him to slam back into the ground face first. Mewtwo repeated this twice more times, and finally threw him into the air once more. He then disappeared, and in a flash, appeared again far above the upward flying Luigi.

"Disappointing." he said telepathically, and in his hand appeared a dark glob of energy, a shadow ball that he launched down at Luigi. Luigi cringed and gasped for air as the ball hit him in his stomach, blasting in back towards the earth.

"Oh no!" Cried Peach in horror. Tendo just gazed on expectantly, and the ball hit the earth, causing a dark explosion. Mario turned in trepidation, and saw a crater in the stage.

"No-a…" he muttered. Ganondorf saw, and began to laugh darkly. Mario turned. His eyes widened in anger, and his fists clenched in anger, tighter and tighter….. Ganondorf laughed louder and louder until it filled the stadium with a resounding malevolence. Then all the sudden, "HERE WE GO-A!" resounded throughout the stadium, echoing, and fire flared outwards in all directions, blasting a vicious wind backwards.

Ganondorf stopped laughing, and looked in front of him. Mario was wreathed in red fire, his eyes wide with anger, and he had spun into an arcane battle stance, on hand pointed outwards, the other drawn behind. Ganondorf was stunned, and in that moment, the red brother attacked.

Mario disappeared with vicious speed, and Ganondorf could scarcely react, as all the sudden Mario's fist was in his gut, lashing painfully through the armor. He spat in pain, as Mario continued with a roundhouse kick to the face and side, a reverse backhand punch, then sweep kicked him, knocking him airborne off his feet. The plumber hopped up, and lashed out with a front kick that hit Ganondorf right in the jaw, sending him into the air.

Mario drew both hands back, past his body, and the air seemed to spiral around him. Both hands suddenly ignited with fire. His eyes seemed to glow, and fire spiraled around his body, collecting into each individual hand, and he thrusted both hands forward, yelling "Eeeee-YAAAH!" and sent a massive wave of fire at the flying Ganondorf, who finally stabilized himself as the wave sailed at him.

At that moment, a shadow ball flew out of nowhere, intercepting the blast. The energies collided at full force blasting wind back at a great force.

"Pathetic," said Mewtwo telepathically, who had appeared besides Ganondorf, pushing the shadow ball against Mario's fire wave. Mario grimaced as the force pushed him backwards a bit. Ganondorf smirked, and fired a blast of his own dark energy into the shadow ball, causing it to grow in size as well as power.

Mario was pushed back even more; on his face was a look of great stress and pain. "L-luiigi…" he muttered, holding on with all his might. "This is it!" roared Mewtwo telepathically, his eyes glowing with an intense blue light but at that exact moment, a figure exploded out of the arena rubble into the air at Mewtwo.

In an instant, the figure of Luigi was above Mewtwo, holding a large golden mallet/hammer, a manic look in his eye, as if he were just reacting on instinct.

Mewtwo's eyes widened. Mario cried, "Luigi!", and Ganondorf's eyes also widened in surprise as Luigi swung the hammer with all his might, bashing Mewtwo in the head in a vicious spike.

Mario seized his chance, and refocused himself entirely on Ganondorf. Using all his power, he cried, "BYE BYE-A!" and the fire increased in extreme pressure, a red light lighting up the sky as the shadow ball broke apart under the fire's heat, and careened straight at Ganondorf, who roared in disbelief as the fire engulfed him in its red glow.

The spectators gasped in awe, as the fire, after a few moments, dissipated into the air, as the body of Ganondorf fell, and it the ground, clearly unconscious. Mewtwo's body lay in a crater of its own, smeared with dirt and debris, also very clearly knocked out.

Luigi flipped to the ground, and landed on his face. "Mama mia….." he muttered. Mario sighed and dropped his hands. For a minute, the spectators were totally silent, but then cheers broke out, filling the stadium with roars. Mario smiled and waved, and walked toward Luigi.

"Well executed." spoke Metaknight quietly.

Kirby nodded in awe. A few other fighter spectators in the first row nodded, also giving compliments. Bowser growled, and turned away. Tendo continued to stare downwards at the two unconscious figures, as if something unexpected had occurred. But then, he shook his head, and waved the brothers upwards, a small grin on his face.

Mario picked Luigi up, and said, "Nice job-a bro!"

Luigi nodded, and smiled weakly. Mario and Luigi both got on the lift back to the first row, and were greeted there by Peach, who hugged them both, smiling widely.

"That's what I'm talking about, Masters! What a match of grime and gristle! What a challenge of Champions! What a-".

As Toadworth continued to ramble, Mario turned with Peach, and saw Tendo glancing at him sideways.

"Good fight….both you and Luigi." He said, with a slight smile, as if he expected nothing less. He turned to look at the two fallen bodies. His eyes narrowed again, but he snapped his fingers, and both bodies disappeared in a flash of light. "They're being taken to a place where their injuries will be healed. Same goes for any fighter who happens to lose, so at least don't worry about that."

Mario nodded, and Luigi's eyes widened with happiness from being recognized by someone other than Peach, Mario, and Toadsworth.

"Now, let's continue." He said, and the crowd quieted down, although there should have been no way they could have heard his voice over their cheers. He looked around, and saw the angry face of Bowser. He smirked, and said "Yeah… How about Bowser and Bowser Jr. and…. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong."

Donkey Kong, a large gorilla, clapped his hands, making monkey noises, as did his partner, a little monkey in a red shirt and cap, Diddy Kong. Bowser smirked and flexed his claws in anticipation. Bowser Jr. did his best to copy his dad, snapping his jaws in what he thought was an intimidating manner. They leaped into the arena.

"Interesting match-up," said one of the fighter spectators, a red haired swordsman. "They both seem to be built for power….the bigger ones, anyway." Metaknight, overhearing, nodded.

"Whenever you're ready." Tendo spoke, and the second fight began.


	2. Chapter 2

Donkey Kong leapt at Bowser, his fist drawn back, and lashed out with a punch, but Bowser blocked, and retaliated with a brutal head butt that knocked DK backwards.

As he flew backwards, Diddy Kong nimbly traversed DK's airborne body, leaped off it, and drew his hands back. When he drew them forward once more, in his hand were two pistols, seemingly made of wood.

With a screech, Diddy pointed the two guns in a cross armed maneuver at Bowser and his son. Bowser's eyes widened, as Diddy fired a barrage of peanuts, which exploded on contact as they struck the ground around Bowser and his son.

For a moment, there was only a cloud of dust. Then, there was a reddish glow from the smoke, and all of the sudden, a blast of fire careened up at Diddy and hit him full force, and explosion blasting outwards from the contact. He shrieked, as the force blasted him upwards.

"Get him, son!"

The roar rang out from the smog, and the Koopa King was suddenly visible, his fist drawn back, aiming directly upwards. To everyone's surprise, Bowser Jr. was perched on the fist in a crouch, letting out an excited snarl. Bowser let out another great roar, and lashed upwards with a vicious punch that blasted Bowser Jr. into the air after Diddy Kong.

Bowser chuckled, and but his eyes narrowed as he noticed a shape in the smoke and saw the hulkish figure of DK, his fur tussled, but very much still able to fight. Bowser's eyes focused, and he turned to face his adversary. Donkey Kong grunted, as he lifted a huge fallen boulder, before heaving it at Bowser, who punched right through it.

The Koopa turned just in time to see DK charging right behind it, and he attempted to trip Bowser, but Bowser rolled out of the way, and fired a blast of fire at DK, who nimbly dunked under the blast. The ape galloped across the ground, bounded forward, and punched at Bowser again in midair, and Bowser smirked and ducked….but his smirk melted as he saw DK's mouth suddenly curved into a grin. He used the momentum of his own punch to flip over Bowser's head, with a loud shout. Upside down, he grabbed Bowser's horns with his feet. Bowser's eyes widened, as DK flipped once more, using the momentum to throw Bowser into an arena wall with vicious force.

Meanwhile, Bowser Jr. continued to fly upwards from his father's punch. All the sudden he saw something to his side, a lone peanut flying at him. He was barely able to move his face, as it flew by, whistling with speed. He turned, and saw Diddy, wearing a jetpack of barrels on his back. Diddy smirked, and he jetted at Bowser Jr., and slugged him in the face. Bowser Jr. let out a cry as he flew downwards from the recoil, and Diddy Kong jetted down in pursuit and drew back his fist to punch again, but as he punched, Bowser Jr. blocked. Diddy's eyes narrowed, and he whipped his tail around, lashing Bowser Jr. once more. The young koopa recoiled, and slammed into the ground, extremely close to where Bowser had it the wall.

Mario winced at the collision: he didn't know what to expect at this point. He looked at Luigi, who turned and looked back with his usual fearful expression. Even Peach looked a bit sympathetic to the Koopa King's plight.

Diddy calmly landed with his jetpack, and clapped several time, as DK also grinned a large grin. Then, DK felt a presence, and looked into the smoke to see a pair of glowing red eyes…..then a roar cut loose from the smoke that blasted the debris and dust away, and sent a wall of wind through the arena.

DK turned once more, and began whirling his fist in circles, gathering power. Bowser dashed forward with his fist back, clenched extremely tight. Diddy's eyes widened to the size of small plates, as he clearly saw what was coming. Bowser Jr. staggeringly stood, but when he saw what was about to occur, he cried, " WAH!" and ducked into his shell.

"Uh…yeah. Guys, I recommend you get down. Now." Tendo spoke, as Bowser and Dk's fists seemed to pulse with force, and they struck at each other simultaneously, their fists colliding with one another.

The effect was immediate, and the air that was forced outwards was phenomenal, blasting spectators backwards, some even out of their seats.

Peach cried out in surprise, and Luigi, drowning in his own fear, sobbed as wind blew around him. Even Mario held on to the row for dear life, as the force cascaded around him.

Bowser Jr., in his shell, was blasted into the air once more, as was Diddy, who luckily managed to put his jet pack back on. He blasted straight at Bowser Jr., but was intercepted by a huge piece of debris that hit him right in the face. But the debris did not look at all normal, as it was black and sinuous, much like a dark paint.

Diddy Kong rubbed his face angrily, and eyes watering in pain, he then saw the dim shape of Bowser Jr., on a disc of what looked to be the same material. In his hand was a paintbrush, long like a staff, but a brush on the tip. The paint glowed, and Bowser Jr. laughed with great mirth, pointing at Diddy.

The monkey growled, and charged at Bowser Jr., as he whipped the brush around, sending a shockwave of paint at Diddy, who maneuvered around it, and drew his pop guns, firing shots at the disc. Bowser Jr. maneuvered around those, then leaped off the disc, screaming shrilly, and to Diddy's disbelief and complete surprise, tackled him, sending them careening off in the air as they struggled for control across the sky, twisting, and turning.

"Whoa…" laughed Tendo, from the stands, seemingly enjoying this arcane move. Luigi's eyes were glued to the scene, and he cried, "Mario! Look!" However, Mario was completely focused on the battle occurring below.

Bowser and Dk had been blasted backwards from the recoil of their punches, but this time, they had landed on their feet. With abandon, the two rushed forward and began a brutal brawl, trading blow after blow; but neither would go down, or back off.

Donkey Kong finally dodged one of Bowser's blow's, and pushed Bowser away with one of his feet, giving him just enough room to draw both arms backward, and clap them together. From the clap, a wave of force cascaded outwards, a shockwave of sound that blasted Bowser in the chest, throwing him backwards into the ground. Donkey Kong paused a moment, and looked around where Bowser should have landed, but there was nothing. But, then he heard a cracking sound, as Bowser tunneled out of the ground in his spiked shell, causing DK to be expelled into the air with a grunt of pain.

Bowser re-emerged from his shell, and opened his mouth, which flared red as red light drew inwards, and the koopa fired a colossal fire blast at DK, who stabilized himself, and drew his hands forward, and caught the blast.

He tried desperately to hold it back, but it kept pushing him upwards. Bowser began to laugh, but DK drew his right fist back, and once more began to whirl it around, as he was pushed higher and higher into the sky. He then, with a loud grunt, punched the center of the fireball, sending it right back down at Bowser, whose face suddenly crossed with a look of shock….and the blast hit, sending arena debris everywhere, as well as red light and embers.

It took a few moments for the smoke to clear, and DK landed on the ground, his hands burnt. He saw Bowser, wounded, but still on his feet, and snorted.

Bowser growled in exasperation, as the task was harder than he believed it would have been. Meanwhile, Diddy and Bowser Jr. continued to spiral around the sky, fighting for control. Diddy kept trying to whack Bowser Jr. with his tail, but he kept swatting it away, until finally, Bowser Jr. bit down on his tail. Diddy shrieked in agony, his eyes watering comically. Bowser Jr. spat out the tail, and coughed a couple time, and unknowingly spit out a few embers…..some which hit the Jet pack. Diddy's eyes widened as the jetpack began to catch on fire. Bowser Jr. stopped coughing, and noticed it too, his eyes widening with great fear. They looked at each other, and both cried out pitifully, holding on to each other for dear life as they began to spiral towards the ground.

Peach cried out, "Oh my!" , pointing to the sky. Mario looked up, as did Tendo, and a few other fighters, and there were Bowser Jr. and Diddy Kong, hurtling recklessly toward the arena.

Bowser's eyes widened, as did DK's, as they both heard the commotion, and looked up to see the incoming youths. They both tried to get away, but it was too late, as the pack and both figures crashed into the ground with a huge explosion that obscured everything.

"Well….that may be it," thought Tendo, bending over to look into the debris. The spectators were whispering, not sure of the outcome. The dust slowly cleared, revealing…all four fighters completely knocked out. Tendo laughed. "A double KO? Wow, didn't expect that at all."

Mario gasped, as he too, saw. The spectators sounded confused, as they didn't know who would advance if no one was standing.

Tendo pondered for a moment, then said," I guess they'll both not advance. They look too ragged anyway."

He laughed, and then he snapped his fingers. Both Donkey Kong, and Bowser disappeared in a flash of light.

"Where are they going?" asked another fighter, an anthropomorphic animal that looked like a fox.

Tendo turned, and replied, "This stadium as a state of the art infirmary. I sent them there for healing." He looked around at the other fighters. Then he turned back to the animal/fighter. "Would you care if you were next….Fox McCloud, right? You ,and Falco Lombardi?"

Next to Fox was another humanoid creature , a blue falcon. Fox nodded, acutely, and hopped into the arena. Falco leaped after, and landed.

"Aaaaand," Tendo muttered, looking around at the fighters. Then, two more figures leaped into the arena. Tendo turned to look. One figure, donned in a yellow shirt and yellow cap with blue overalls sashayed around the arena, looking smug and important. The other wore exactly the same clothes, except rather than yellow, they were purple. The yellow one was squat, and fat, the other purple one was lanky and tall. Mario gasped, as he recognized them.

"Hm, Wario and Waluigi, huh?" muttered Tendo. "Eh."

He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, the arena repaired itself, chunks of debris suddenly repairing themselves and putting themselves back together. In a few brief moments, the spectators gazed in awe as the entire arena was good as new.

Wario had a dark smirk on his face, as did Waluigi. Mario couldn't place it, but he felt something different about them. He could see it in their eyes…but could only watch as Tendo gave the okay, and the match began!


	3. Chapter 3

Even as Tendo began the fight, Mario continued to think about what was different about the two Wario brothers. He was so wrapped in his thoughts, he didn't even notice that Luigi seemed to be getting sick beside him.

"Are you alright, Master Luigi?" asked Toadsworth. Luigi's teeth were chattering, and he was shaking.

Tendo turned around as the fight had started, and saw Luigi.

"Is he ok?" asked Tendo, directed towards Peach.

"We don't know," she replied. Kirby was also patting Luigi's shoulder, with a worried look on his pink face. Tendo's eyes narrowed in what might have been slight concern.

"You want some air?" he asked. "Take a breather; we don't need you getting sick."

Luigi wobbled upright, nodded, and went to the stairway exit, hobbled down the stairs, and exited the main entrance.

It was still bright outside (one could see that from the stadium) and the sounds of nature filled the air. Luigi took a deep breath. He shuddered at the presence he had felt from Wario and Waluigi, as if they were entirely different people, transformed. Their very presence had made him sick to his stomach, but he couldn't place why they had made him feel that way.

Luigi sighed, wondering why he had entered the tournament with Mario: he then began to sob as he remembered how Mario had basically forced him. However, Luigi wasn't allowed much time to dwell on his misery, as he heard a rustling noise from the trees.

He looked into the brush, but saw nothing, as the foliage was far too dense. He put his hands up in a makeshift battle stance, and inched towards the thicket, shaking.

"H-helloooo?

As Luigi stared into the darkness of the thicket, suddenly, two spherical shapes flew out of the trees, right at Luigi. Luigi screamed a shrill scream, and fell on his back. He clenched his eyes, and waited for the inevitable end….nothing happened. Luigi peeked out of one quenched eye.

What stood, or more accurately, floated in front of him was like nothing he had ever seen before, even after his many crazy adventures with his red clad brother. Floating before him were two ornate spherical beings, both emanating with a strange light: one glowed with a hazy blue light of many hues, the other, an orangish-red light that reminded Luigi of the sun.

Once Luigi got over the shock of the two beings in front, he realized they were speaking. As he began to listen, he heard them talking. "- he alright, Prea?" said blue one, in a high pitched voice. "-dunno, Crea."replied the red one, in a similar voice.

Then, both saw Luigi was awake, and listening, and they flew closer to his face, causing the green brother to draw back a bit.

"I don't recognize him." said the blue one.

"Neither do I." replied the red one. "Are you a reploid, mister green?"

Luigi had never heard that 'r' word before, and thus, he replied with the smartest answer he could think of: "Huh?".

The two orbs were about to speak again, but they were cut off by another louder rustling emanating from the same brush. Both the orbs cried out in fright, and hid behind Luigi's body.

"Can you help us, mister?" asked the red sphere, fear making its voice quake .

"Can you? Please?" repeated the other, seemingly shivering.

Luigi was so confused that you could see the questions on his face, but all of the sudden, a squadron of humanoid beings burst from the trees. Luigi's eyes widened and his jaw dropped about 6 inches. They were blue in color, and seemed to be clad in a thin, but futuristic armor, armor Luigi had never seen before. But the strangest thing about these beings is that they had no face, but instead had a red orb where their eyes, nose, and mouth should have been. Also, rather than a hand, one of their arms had a blaster attached to it.

Luigi, again, had never seen anything like these creatures, and he silently cursed his luck, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"Uh oh…."said the red orb.

There were about 7 of the beings, and now that they had stepped from the shadows, they clearly looked robotic.

"Pantheons!" cried the blue orb.

One of the so-called "Pantheons" pointed the blaster at Luigi, with clear malicious intent….but all the sudden, Luigi had put his two feet through the Pantheon's head in an unconventional kick.

The single pantheon flew back, and exploded, and Luigi cried, "Yaaay for me-a!" and began to dance, clearly proud of his successful sneak attack.

All the other soldiers seemed to be surprised, but after a split second, they quickly turned to Luigi, pointing their blasters directly at the green brother. Luigi abruptly stopped dancing, his eyes getting wider by the second: a moment later, every single Pantheon fired a torrent of yellow energy bullets directly at Luigi. The green brother let out a shriek of disbelief as the blasts cascaded around him, each exploding on contact, until a fiery blast obscured the small area, including Luigi and the two spheres.

As the air vortexed around, the Pantheons stood completely still, still pointing their blasters into the smog, waiting to detect any kind of movement. Slowly, the light and dust dispersed…..but there stood Luigi, shaken up, and frozen in a fetal position, but alive.

"Crea?" asked the red orb, looking around.

Luigi snapped out of the fetal position, and looked around, before also noticed the blue orb was gone.

Then, a familiar high-pitched voice spoke, "I'm here, Prea."

Luigi looked around quickly, looking for the source of the voice. The red orb, Prea, also looked around, before then staring in the direction of Luigi, right at him in fact.

"Um, Mister Green?" Luigi looked at Prea, and then looked at himself, and was shocked at what he saw. He realized that his body, as well his clothes, were now tinged with a slight blue color. Blue numerical data fragments appeared, disappeared, then reappeared, spiraling around him in a radical aura.

"Beat those guys up!" cried the voice, which Luigi finally realized was actually inside his head, but he was so enthralled by his transformation that he scarcely heard it . The voice sighed, and said, "Mister Luigi!"

All the sudden, Luigi was focused, and his head snapped up. His teeth began to chatter, and he watched as the pantheons seemed to be assessing the situation. They pointed their blasters at Luigi, and fired once more, multiple shots careening at the green plumber.

Luigi's eyes widened as the blasts arced directly at him, but not in fear. Luigi saw everything in slow motion: his vision had been seemingly enhanced. Blue glyphs kept flashing through his sight, showing him everything that was happening.

"Dodge!" cried the voice of Crea in his head.

Luigi heeded the voice's advice, and quickly strafed around every blasts, dodging with extreme precision. He skidded from the speed, and bounded straight at the group of pantheons, his hands drawn back , and he stuck downwards with a cry. The effect was immediate, as a colossal explosion overtook the area.

Prea gave a small cry as air cascaded around her, and gasped as something small hit her head, or body would be more accurate. It was a piece of a blaster: blue robotic parts littered the area, and some small pieces, like the one that hit Prea, rained down from the sky.

Luigi's mouth was agape with the destruction that he had just incurred with so little effort, and fell back on his bottom. The red sphere flew over, and cried, "Wow!" to Luigi, who was so shocked he didn't even reply.

Then, his body glowed a bright blue for a moment as the blue sphere suddenly exited from his chest. The blue glow faded away from Luigi until he was 'normal' colored again, and no data flew around him.

"Good thinking, Crea!" said the red orb.

"Thanks, Prea!" replied the blue orb. "This is Mister Luigi." The name snapped Luigi back to his senses. He asked in rapid Italian how the orb knew his name.

"Well, I was inside your body…. So I glimpsed fragments of your data." said the blue orb. Luigi scratched his head, clearly not understanding.

"I'm Prea, that's Crea." spoke the red orb.

"We're lost." spoke Crea, sadly. "We were supposed to be safe with Miss Ciel….now we keep being chased by everyone else, and we're tired!" whined Prea.

They both looked at Luigi. "Will you help us?" asked both of them.

Luigi registered the name, "Ciel", but he didn't recognize it. In fact, there was nothing about this situation he was comfortable with: getting attacked by rogue robots was not something he wanted happening all the time. But Luigi knew he couldn't turn down the two spheres, and he could tell that despite their strange figure, they were children, and couldn't just leave them to fend for themselves.

He nodded, saying, "Oki-doki." and beckoned for the two to follow him, and began to walk back toward the stadium, the two orbs following close behind, squealing with delight and anticipation.

Mario was the first to see Luigi returning from the outside and cried, "Luigi!" He then saw the two creatures floating behind him.

"Hm?" he asked Luigi, who scratched his head, seemingly embarrassed.

Peach and Toadsworth clearly wondered the same thing, but Kirby actually jumped up and began hopping around the two orbs, laughing jovially, clapping. Crea and Prea laughed and swirled around Kirby, playing like they were old friends, as Luigi quickly explained what had occurred as he had went out. Prea suddenly stopped playing with Kirby, and hovered over to the group before swiveling toward the red plumber.

"You look like Mister Luigi." Mario introduced himself easily enough. Peach smiled, and said, "They're adorable!" Luigi looked at Mario, and asked if they could watch the creatures until they could get them home, wherever 'home' was. Mario nodded, and Peach quickly said, "Of course!", as the orbs introduced themselves.

"Hmm, maybe that crazy professor would know where these two originated from-" spoke Toadsworth, but then he was cut off by a large explosion that came from the arena. Debris blew back that buffeted the stands.

Mario shielded himself, as well as the orbs, as Luigi was blown back, and crashed into the back of the first row, and landed in a crumpled heap with a dazed look in his eye. The air slowly settled…. Mario ran forward, and looked down, and his eyes widened in shock. There, on the ground in an unconscious heap, were Fox and Falco, clearly out cold.

"Wha?!" cried Mario, who looked at Tendo in surprise for a possible explanation, but Tendo's eyes were wide in apparent surprise.

"What happened to them…..", he muttered.

Mario heard, but when he looked down, Wario and Waluigi looked the same as they had always looked. However, the same menacing presence still hung around them.

Mario grimaced, as Wario and Waluigi leaped back onto the far side of the first row. Tendo snapped his fingers, and Fox and Falco disappeared into the light. Kirby continued to prance around on his toes, as if the explosion hadn't fazed him in the slightest, but then he ran forward, and leaped into the arena, and said in a high piched voice, "Next!", waving at Tendo.

The serious look on Tendo's face melted to a look of questioning. He looked at Metaknight, and pointed at Kirby.

"Um, he wants the next round to himself? You don't want to go down there and give him a hand?"

Under the mask, it sounded as if Metaknight was chuckling.

"Let him go," he responded. Mario gasped, gesturing frantically at Metaknight.

"Calm down." Mario quieted down, and looked into the arena at Kirby, who was happily dancing around the arena. The spectators muttered to themselves in disbelief, including some of the fighters.

Tendo looked around, and saw the team he was looking for. He closed his eyes, and sighed, muttering, "How did these guys even sign up?" Then he finished, "Pikachu, and Raichu?"

Two mouse creatures looked up, one smaller than the other. The smaller one was about the size of a basketball, with yellow fur and black stripes on its back, and a zigzag black and yellow tail. It also had red dots on its cheeks. "Pika?" it asked. The other one was bigger, and looked meaner than Pikachu. It growled, and electric volts sparkled from the dots on its cheeks. It looked similar to Pikachu, but instead, it had golden fur, and a longer tail, and longer ears.

Raichu leaped into the arena, and yelled, "Rai!" growling. Pikachu leaped down after him, with both of them facing Kirby, who stopped dancing, and stood there for a moment. Then he waved at the two Pokémon with the same smile he had on earlier.

Tendo slapped his forehead in exasperation.

"Go ahead guys…" he said. Raichu's cheeks sparked and he shot a bolt of golden electricity at Kirby, who easily backflipped out of the way. Raichu growled, and suddenly, Pikachu charged forward, shooting bolts of electricity at Kirby, who, while still laughing, dodged every strike, finally ending by leaping into the air.

Kirby looked up above him, and to his surprise, saw Raichu, who lashed out with his long tail a multitude of times, but Kirby swiveled out of the way of every blow. Raichu's tail shot forward a final time, but this time, Kirby grabbed the tail. With a yell, the puffball swung around, and released Raichu, sending him flying to the ground. Right before he hit, he used his tail to steady himself, and landed on his feet.

"Rai!" cried Raichu, his cheeks sparking again, and Pikachu cried, "Pika!", his cheeks sparking as well, and the both yelled "CHUUU!" at the same time, sending a large stream of yellow lightning straight at Kirby, who was in no position to dodge.

"Mama mia!" cried Mario.

Peach gasped, and Luigi ogled, still dazed from his collision. Crea and Prea let out a cry of fear, but Peach quickly but her arms around them, shielding them. Metaknight said nothing, but just watched.

Kirby opened his mouth, and began to inhale. He kept inhaling, a vacuum being created as, to everyone's surprise, he inhaled the lightning into his mouth. Air spiraled upwards into his mouth as he consumed the lightning.

Mario's jaw dropped, his eyes wide. Peach fell backwards in shock, losing her grip on the spheres. Toadsworth stuttered inaudible words, as Kirby ate the lightning, and fell towards earth like a comet, hitting the ground with a large boom, sending dust and debris outwards

. For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a large gulping sound, as if someone had just swallowed something, and suddenly, an arc of golden lightning blasted back the dust, and there was Kirby, yellow electricity surrounding him, with the tail of Raichu, and also a "hat" that resembled the top of Raichu's head, ears included.

Toadsworth fainted, the sight being too much for him.

"Whoa," Said Tendo, clearly surprised.

Metaknight closed his eyes, and chuckled, "Heh."

Raichu growled and charged at Kirby, and lashed a forepaw at Kirby, but Kirby dodged at lightning fast speeds, far faster than before, and suddenly he was under Raichu's defenses. Time seemed to slow.

From the stands as this was happening, Mario asked, "Wha-…wha?" He turned as he heard Metaknight's voice to his side.

"He may not look it, but Kirby is a warrior who is quite capable in a fight. He has the unique ability to absorb an enemy's attacks, or themselves, and take their abilities for his own. That alone…"

Kirby drew his stub fist back, and electricity crackled around it, and Raichu's eye's widened with shock as he saw this.

"…Makes him extremely lethal." Metaknight finished, and Kirby drilled a punch right into Raichu's gut, blasting him backwards past Pikachu, so fast, the air tussled Pikachu's fur.

Pikachu's eyes were wide, but he growled, and he began to run at Kirby, who looked questioningly at Pikachu. Pikachu's entire body began to spark with energy as he ran faster and faster, until it was pouring constantly out of his body in an apparent Volt tackle technique.

He tackled Kirby as Kirby raised his arms, catching Pikachu, pushing himself back as he tried to resist the force. Tendrils of lightning flared everywhere as their two energies clashed…then Kirby stopped being forced back.

He took a shaky step forward, then another, and then, with all his might threw Pikachu into the air. Pikachu let out a cry of surprise. Kirby drew his body inward, and muttered "Raaaiii…" as his body began concentrating the lightning around him, then, "CHUUUU!" and fired a lightning bolt right at Pikachu, zapping him in midair.

Pikachu fell to the ground, dazed, but clearly unable to battle. Kirby smiled, and sat down, and the tail and "hat" melted off his body, leaving only his original puffball form. The crowd was silent for a moment, but then roared its approval. Kirby looked up, and waved, smiling happily as if he just had had the time of his life.

"He's strong…"said Mario, still wide eyed.

Metaknight nodded, then beckoned to Kirby, who looked up, saw and then got up, and hopped up to the first row.

Tendo nodded at Kirby in a show of respect.

Luigi had finally gotten up, but he'd also gotten the gist of what had occurred in the ring: he looked at Kirby slightly fearfully.

"Finally, the last fight," spoke Tendo with a sigh. He snapped his fingers, and Pikachu and Raichu's bodies disappeared in the same flash of light. "Last two teams! Roy and Marth! Link and Zelda! Get down there!"

A blue haired swordsman in blue dressings and a cape stood up, along with a red haired swordsman, in blue and gold dressings and a red cape. A green clothed elfish man with a sword also stood up, in a green cap, not unsimilar to one of the sleeping variety. Also, an elfish woman stood up, in dressings similar to Peach. Both teams looked at each other, apparently sizing each other up.

Mario watched intently, for some reason expecting this fight to be an extremely interesting one to watch.

The red-haired swordsman jumped down into the arena. The elfish woman looked down in indignation, but the green swordsman put his arm in front of her to stop her, and jumped down into the arena with him.

"Only Roy and Link?" asked Tendo. "Marth and Zelda, you're ok with this?"

Marth folded his arms, and nodded, a slightly bored look on his face. Zelda looked worriedly at Link, but nodded. Link smirked, and the spectators were silent. Mario gulped in anticipation; even Metaknight seemed to be paying rapt attention to this fight.

"My name is Roy," said the red haired swordsman. He drew his sword. "Don't make this too easy."

Tendo sighed, and waved his hand elaborately, saying, "You know what to do.", and Mario watched, ready for the last fight of the preliminary rounds to begin.


	4. Chapter 4

Suddenly, without warning, Roy slashed upwards quickly, and a small smile crossed his face.

Mario gasped, as he saw behind Roy an arrow that suddenly ignited. It split in half before completely burning up. Link had a smirk on his face, his bow drawn, apparently having shot the arrow initially.

"This should be fun," he said, smirking.

Roy wasted no more time, and took off right at Link, and swung his blade right down at Link's head, but Link strafed to the side, and countered with a sweep kick, which Roy jumped over nimbly. Link looked up, and from his arm shot a hidden chain at Roy's leg, but Roy turned upside down, and grabbed the chain with his free hand. Without hesitation, he yanked the chain upwards, pulling Link up towards him, and drew back his sword, then thrusting it forward at Links torso, but Link twisted out of the way, and retracted the chain, and drew his sword.

He yelled, as he began spinning towards Roy, increasing speed with every turn. Roy's eyes widened, and a split second before it was too late, he rose his sword to intercept the attack.

As steel hit steel, clangs resounded and sparks lit the arena. Roy grimaced as he held back the brutal offense. As the attack subsided, Roy countered and swung his sword against Links, propelling himself backwards and to the ground, in which he skidded backwards across the arena. After a moment, he stopped, regaining his balance completely.

Link also touched ground in a crouch, his eyes down. Suddenly, Link's body shifted in features. The triangle emblem, The Triforce symbol, on his gloves seemed to glow a golden light, and expand slightly. A look of focus settled over Link's face, and power blasted back at Roy, whose sword also burst with a powerful fire, as if in expectance for the coming clash.

Zelda gasped, as did Mario. Air blasted back from the two forces, reacting just from their mere proximity, and Tendo's eyes widened. He snapped his fingers, light surrounded the arena: more shields coming into being to protect the spectators.

Link charged right at Roy, and Roy charged right at Link, and yelled, " Burst FLARE!" and swung his sword at Link as Link swung his own blade at Roy, seeming to slice through the very fabric of the air itself ….there was a colossal explosion that obscured the entire arena. The recoil of the collision shattered the extra shields that Tendo put around the arena, and even through the shields, the intense air blasted fighters and spectators alike backwards.

It took a few moments for the smoke to clear, and when it did, to everyone's surprise, Roy and Link were both still on their feet, swords drawn back. The triforce emblem on Link's arms slowly began to fade away , and the blaze around Ro's sword dissipated. They both were breathing hard, clearly fatigued from the strikes.

Then, Roy stood up straight, as did Link. They both sheathed their swords, and Link actually smiled. Zelda looked at link, and caught his drift.

"We forfeit," she said suddenly to Tendo.

Mario gaped in surprise.

"What?" asked Marth, also in surprise.

Roy's eyes also widened. "We're equal," He said. "We both should be eliminated, if anything. Otherwise, how can we determine a fair winner?!"

Tendo thought about it for a second, but then shrugged. "If they forfeit, then you win by default. Those are the rules…."

Roy stared at Link, who turned back to Roy, smiled, and wagged his finger at Roy in a joking manner that seemed to say 'We'll settle this someday.' Roy grimaced, but nodded, and they both leaped out of the arena. Roy noticed that his Flare strike had singed Link's clothes and had burned away at bits of the stage, but then he also noticed on the arena a deep cut in the earth that spanned about 30 feet.

Zelda turned, and saw Peach, smiled and waved. Peach kind of looked surprised, but then she smiled and waved back. Marth walked over, and steadied Roy. The spectators quieted down, as Tendo began to speak.

"Aaand that's if for our first round fights. The remaining teams are….Mario and Luigi, Kirby and Metaknight, Roy and Marth, and Wario and Waluigi. Congrats guys!"

The spectators cheered loudly, and Mario smiled, as did Kirby and Luigi. Mario looked for Wario and Waluigi, but they had vanished mysteriously. Mario thought for a second, but then just let it go.

"The winners will be called tomorrow back here for the semi-final matches! Until then, rest up, and get something to eat. Laters!" he finished, and he disappeared in a flash of light.

Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toadsworth had said their goodbyes to Kirby, and Metaknight, and walked out of the stadium. Peach and Toadsworth were talking to Mario about the fights, then Mario snapped his fingers, as if he had forgotten something. He quickly asked about the orbs, Crea and Prea, realizing they hadn't made a sound since the 3rd and 4th matches. Luigi gasped as he remembered, looking around frantically. Peach laughed.

"They're with me, Mario in my dress."

Mario at first did a double take, thinking he had misheard Peach. However, at closer inspection, he then noticed Peach's dress now had tings of blue and red besides her regular pink and white.

"I think they're sleeping."

Mario and Luigi both sighed with relief, but the relief was short-lived. Mario's eyes widened, as if he felt something in the air. His head snapped up, and he looked behind him, and saw a figure about twenty feet away. Luigi, Peach, and Toadsworth noticed and looked, and Luigi began to stutter and point as he saw the adversary, like he had seen a ghost.

The figure was clad in red and black, skinny, and appeared to be wearing a helmet of red and white, with a crystal mounted in the center. He also had long, golden hair.

"So you're the ones who took the Baby Elves."

He spoke quietly, a cold look in his gray eyes. Luigi then choked, still stuttering. He remembered the pantheon hunters he fought in the forest, and although those enemies had been clad in blue armor and faceless, this figure looked similar. But Luigi could also tell that this adversary was not at all like those other enemies he had dispatched of.

"M-M-M-" Luigi stuttered, but he was cut off by his brother, who shouted, "Who are you-a!"

"Not important." responded the figure. "Just give me back the elves." He drew from his side a saber, one that appeared to be made of a green light, connected to a short white handle.

"Not you again!" cried a voice suddenly. Prea suddenly flew out of Peach's dress. "Why don't you go away, you mean reploid!"

"Yeah, you fake!" cried Crea, who also flew out of Peach, both of them hovering close to her.

The "reploid" sighed, and shook his head in what might have been disdain. Mario grimaced, and got into a battle stance, expecting confrontation, and sure enough, the figure reacted. He drew his saber, and suddenly disappeared in a flash of speed.

"Huh?!" exclaimed Mario, looking back and forth.

Luigi saw something, and cried, "Mario!" and pointed.

Mario turned, and just in time saw the reploid to his right. Mario could barely force down his shock at the figure's speed: at that moment, he knew he wasn't dealing with an ordinary opponent. As his adversary swung the saber right at the red brother's head, Mario bent backwards, barely dodging, seeing the blade pass over him right where his head just was a moment ago in what seemed like slow motion.

The reploid skidded forward from the momentum, turned, and instantly took off towards Mario once more, but this time, Mario intercepted the blade with his hammer, which knocked the reploid and himself backwards with the impact.

Mario closed the gap between him and the reploid with a single leap, and swung down at him, but he spun out of the way, and twisted to slash at Mario's torso, but he quickly blocked with the hammer's head; but Mario's eyes widened as he felt a ripple of pressure, and suddenly, he was blasted into the sky from the sheer force of his adversaries strike.

The reploid took off after him with a powerful skyward jump. "Do you know who that is?" asked Peach from the ground worriedly, towards the orbs, but they both said nothing. There were clashes across the sky as Mario and the reploid struck at each other, then disappeared, only to strike each other again. This repeated several times culminating as Mario swung at the reploid, who also swung his saber.

There was a flash as the two strikes collided…..then the head of Mario's hammer fell towards the earth, severed, leaving Mario with only a wooden shaft.

Mario cried "Mama mi-" but didn't even get to finish his statement, as the figure slashed him 5 times and as Mario recoiled, slammed his fist into Mario's stomach, sending him rocketing back towards the ground. Mario hit the ground with a great impact, blasting earth backwards.

Peach and Luigi screamed, "Mario!"

Toadsworth's eyes were wide as plates, and he was stuttering, "M-Master!"

Mario was on his back in the rubble, looking ragged. He groaned, and struggled to get up, but the reploid stood before him, pointing his saber at Mario's throat.

"Pretty good," He said. "Better than a lot of mavericks I've had to deal with…"

Mario glared at the figure, who drew the saber back, but then, a voice cried "Wait!" Zero turned his head.

Crea and Prea were hovering a few feet from him.

"Don't kill him!" cried Prea.

"Don't kill him, Zero!" repeated Crea.

The reploid, Zero's eyes widened slightly, and he grimaced.

"I don't know how, but they stole you from Ciel. I'm here at her request."

"No! They didn't steal us!" exclaimed Crea.

"They saved us from a bunch of Pantheon's!" finished Prea.

At this, Zero's eyes turned back toward Mario, and while he was unfocused, Mario flipped back up to his feet, ready to continue the fight.

"….Pantheons." he spoke quietly.

Then, he looked at his arm bands, as if noticing something. A voice from Zero's ear region, spoke, "Zero!" Mario's eyes widened, and he lowered his arms, still wondering what was going on. Luigi also got to Mario's side, still looking incredibly afraid.

Zero replied, "Ciel."

"I've been trying to contact you for hours!" exclaimed the voice, which sounded female. "When the transporter malfunctioned, no one knew where you went!"

Zero looked around, and then back at Mario.

"…..Where is this place."

Mario frowned, but then responded in quick Italian. Peach ran over towards Mario and Luigi along with Toadsworth.

"Are you all right?" asked Peach, but she stopped when she saw Zero.

"Did you get that, Ciel?" asked Zero. A typing sound was heard from the background.

"Hmmmm…near a place called Mushroom Kingdom? I've never heard of such a place…and we can't even find you in our retrieval database…."

Zero's eyes widened at that in surprise for a split second, but then he regained his calm demeanor.

"Wherever I am, I located the Baby Elves." he said.

The voice gasped. "Did you?! Are they with you now?"

Zero looked at Peach and Toadsworth. "More or less. They were found by a few people from here."

The voice said nothing. Then, "Are they safe?"

Zero nodded, and said, "Yes."

There was a sigh of relief in the background. All of the sudden, there was the sound of static.

"Zero! We're breaking up due to - inter-."

Zero's expression changed to one of worry.

"Ciel!" he yelled.

Then the static stabilized. "Wherever you are, connecting to you is taking a lot of power…. We're going to try to get the transporter working again. In theory, that should be able to return you and the elves to the Resistance base. In the meantime, maybe you could try to find out more about your location?"

Zero nodded, and said, "Okay."

"Zero….please be careful…..and please keep an eye on the Baby Elves," the voice spoke, and Mario noticed she sounded really worried. He guessed that whoever that person was, she must really care about him.

"I will." replied Zero.

The transmission cut off. Zero said nothing for a moment.

"Excuse me." Said Peach suddenly, who stepped forward despite Toadsworth's protests. Zero turned to face Peach.

"Are you lost?" asked Peach .

"…." Zero was silent.

"Answer!" cried Prea on Peach's behalf.

Zero still said nothing. Then, he "sheathed" the saber, meaning the green energy dissipated. He turned his back on Peach, and began to walk away.

"Wait!" exclaimed Peach. "What's your name?" she finished. Zero stopped. He turned his head to look back at Peach.

"Zero." he replied. He turned his head back to its original position, the back facing the group. Then, "Keep them safe. I need to find out more about this area" And he disappeared instantly, just as he had fighting Mario.

Peach looked into the distance, then turned, laughing embarrassingly, as Toadsworth ran forward, saying, "Princess! Don't you ever-!" and began rambling about how what she did was too dangerous, and how she shouldn't put herself at risk. Mario also looked into the sky. He recognized how strong Zero was, how he was an opponent that even he might've not been able to defeat. He felt something poking his shoulder.

He turned, and saw Luigi, looking ashamed, holding the golden head of his hammer, the part Zero sliced off. Mario smiled, and patted Luigi's shoulder. He took the piece, and picked up the sliced wooden shaft off of the ground. Peach saw, and said "Oh…". Toadsworth also saw, and he stood up tall, and said, "Don't worry, Master Mario, we'll fix it for you before your next match!"

Mario nodded in appreciation. 'Shall we go?" asked Toadsworth, and sure enough, a golden pipe had appeared from the ground in front of them. Peach took Crea and Prea, and hopped into the pipe, Toadsworth close behind. Mario took a step forward, and then look backwards, to the area that Zero had just left. Mario turned to Luigi. "Luigi." Luigi turned, and his face had an emotion that was very unlike him: determination. Mario nodded, and they clasped hands together in "bro" hand slap, and both jumped into the pipe.


	5. Chapter 5

The Next Day…

The stands were once again packed to the brim, as spectators cheered and awaited the beginning of the semi-final rounds. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toadsworth once again stood in the first row, awaiting the start.

Mario looked around. He saw the other semifinal teams waiting, positioned all around the first row: Roy and Marth, Kirby and Metaknight, as well as Wario and Waluigi. Mario's gaze stopped at Wario and Waluigi. Wario turned his head, and looked at Mario, and grimaced. Mario stared back, unperturbed. Luigi also turned his gaze to look at Waluigi, who in turn stared back.

"Hmm, all the other teams that lost aren't here, eh?" spoke Toadsworth, breaking the spell.

Mario turned, and asked, "Hm?"

Peach also looked around. "I wonder why?"

"Most of the teams were critically wounded in their fights, and are still in the healing chambers, to answer your question," replied a serious voice.

They turned in surprise, and there was Tendo. Luigi recoiled in shock, not expecting to see him there; he was faster than the green bro expected, as well as quiet.

"Of course, the exceptions are Link and Zelda," he finished. "I suppose we should start this up…." He jumped up, and landed on the stage railing. The spectators began to quiet down. "Is everyone ready to get started?!" he yelled.

The spectators roared in anticipation, and Tendo smirked.

"The rules are the same as before! The winners will advance to the final round, and obtain their prize! And, now, I can tell you what that prize can entail!" Tendo paused, closed his eyes. "Whatever you want."

There was total silence. "I can pretty much grant whatever you may want…so long as it isn't anything crazy or stupid. You know, something within the limits of an average guy like me." He raised his hand, and everyone gasped as a vortex of celestial energy swirled into being.

Mario's eyes were wide. Everyone was speechless, and Tendo closed his eyes again, and the vortex. "So the stakes are now higher than you might have previously believed."

Suddenly, there was a crash in the arena. Everyone looked down, and in the arena were the forms of Wario and Waluigi. "Heh," chuckled Tendo.

"Princess-a…." spoke Mario.

"I left the Baby elves in the Toad's care at the castle, Mario…so don't worry. Just…..be careful." spoke Peach, with a worried expression on her face.

Mario nodded, his eyes focused. He leaped off the first row, and landed in a crouch a few feet from Wario and Waluigi. Luigi took a deep breath, and also jumped down.

"…" Kirby let out a quiet sound.

Metaknight turned, and looked at the pink spud. Kirby had a troubled look on his face, and appeared to be shaking.

"Whats wrong, Kirby?" asked Metaknight.

Kirby shook his head, and said nothing, still trembling.

"Well….looks like we have our match ups," said Roy.

Tendo grinned slightly, and said, "Whenever you both are ready!"

Mario spun into his battle stance, and so did Luigi. Wario and Waluigi got into a crouch, and suddenly, a maniacal grin spread across both their faces. The pressure in the air suddenly seemed to increase, and they each took off directly at Mario and Luigi. Mario grimaced, unperturbed by the pressure increase, and took off straight back at them. Luigi's eyes widened, and he took off at Mario.

As the dust clouds that each fighter made drew nearer to each other, the spectators just watched in rapt anticipation, the intensity of the battle to come not lost on any of them.

Mario and Wario neared each other, and without hesitation, leaped. The mustachioed red plumber punched at Wario, but Wario moved quickly do duck under the punch, and retaliated with a jab right to Mario's stomach. Mario was blasted into the ground, but he flipped to quickly land on his feet, and sidestepped to the side just as Wario punched again. Mario grabbed his outstretched fist, and began to spin Wario around, before sending him flying backwards with a powerful throw. Wario landed on his feet and looked up, and saw Mario high above, sailing down at him, having leaped into the sky. Wario smirked, and the pressure around him increased once more as he drew his fist back. Mario also drew his fist back, and then, fire burst around it. The two let out a roar, and punched each other at full force, ripping through the ground with a wave of intense pressure.

Luigi was watching in amazement, and thus, was caught off guard as the figure of Waluigi appeared in from of him, and his mouth dropped a few feet in complete terror. Waluigi struck at Luigi, but Luigi dodged amazingly quickly, and began to run in the opposite direction crying. Waluigi took off after him, and struck many times at Luigi, but Luigi constantly strafed, dodged, and finally long jumped out of the way of the final blow. However, an arena wall cornered him, leaving him nowhere else to run.

Luigi skidded to a stop, frantically searching for a way out. Waluigi chuckled, and stepped forward menacingly. Luigi' s eyes began to water, as he stepped back in fear. Waluigi's eyes narrowed, and all of the sudden, he disappeared and Luigi closed his eyes waiting for the blow. He opened his eyes just in time to see Waluigi lashing his fist at Luigi's gut; and Luigi caught the blow. Luigi looked wide eyed at his fist, as it seemed to move on his own. Waluigi grimaced, and punched with the other fist, but Luigi caught that punch with his other fist as well.

Even the crowd was silent at this development. Then Luigi's face changed to one of anger, albeit he wasn't sure why. Shockwaves of green began to cut through the air around the two figures.

"….."Marth gazed on, as the energy got more intense.

Peach's eyes were widening, and Luigi's eyes flashed, and he crouched down, and jumped up with the force of a cannon, headbutting Waluigi in the stomach. Waluigi bent like "v" in pain, gasping for air, and they both careened into the sky, Luigi still rocketing upward.

The crowd gasped in awe as Luigi then pulled back, and Waluigi recoiled, with a look of anger on his face. Luigi glared back at him, and Waluigi flashed out with a punch, but Luigi dodged, and retaliated with a kick, but he blocked. Waluigi jabbed at Luigi, but Luigi blocked also. They broke apart, and they both went straight at each with brutal blows, clashing faster and faster as they fell towards the earth.

Then, Luigi drew back, and cried "Chaos-a… Blast-a!".

Waluigi drew up his guard…..but nothing happened. Luigi cried, "HOO HOO!" and axed kicked the fooled Waluigi into the stage. At the exact same moment, Mario's eyes widened, and he smirked and he leaped backwards, as ironically, by a strange twist of fate, Waluigi careened right into Wario, and both hit the ground, kicking up dust and debris.

Mario landed on his feet and Luigi landed right beside him. Mario drew back his hands and red fire began to burst between them, and Luigi copied him, and green fire began to burst between them. Red and green flames began to arc outwards around the stadium.

"Let's-a go!" they cried, and they both fired their blasts, which careened into the smog, and a huge explosion of fiery energy erupted from hit, blinding everyone and blasting air backwards, obscuring everyone in the arena, even Mario and Luigi.

Peach covered herself as debris showered outwards. The only one who didn't try to defend himself was Tendo, as the debris just seemed to miss him and fly past. His gaze was serious as he gazed into the smoke. As the dust slowly cleared from Mario and Luigi's area, they slowly stood tall. The arena was completely silent.

In the Stadium healing area, lines of the fallen fighters floated in the healing fluids of the test tubes, submerged completely. The figure of Bowser was illuminated, and he appeared to be smirking, though unconscious.

From the arena, suddenly, a shriek erupted from the dust that blasted a shockwave of immense force , outwards. Everyone's eyes widened, even Tendo's. Mario and Luigi stepped back, eyes wide.

Wario and Waluigi had drastically changed in appearance. Rather than their usual clothing, they appeared to be made of bones, as if their skin had disappeared, and only the skeleton's remained, still retaining their original body form. Even their two hats were now a bonelike structure. Two golden lights glowed from the darkness of their skull's empty eye sockets.

"Hm?" muttered Tendo quietly, unsure about this development.

Peach was speechless, hands around her mouth, as was everyone else. Kirby was shivering even more than he was prior, a frightened expression on his face. Luigi fell to his back in total fear, quaking. Mario got in a crouch, his eyes wide.

"H-Hey-a!" he yelled at the Wario creature.

Its eyes swiveled around the arena. It flexed its boney hands, before locking its eyes on Mario. The red plumber stumbled back a step, as he recoiled at the enormous killing intent that he felt that washed over him like a wave.

The Waluigi creature stepped forward, and seemed to smirk, and then let out a piercing shriek that cut the air like a knife, and the Wario creature joined in. The pressure that Mario had felt in the past erupted back into existence, at a much greater density than he had felt before, his body felt like he'd increased in a considerable amount of weight.

Peach screamed, covering her ears, an action that was duplicated by everyone else, but Tendo's eyes just grew wider in shock. Mario had been caught out of focus, and he turned just in time to see Waluigi closing the distance between him and Luigi, his boney claw-like fist drawn back. Time seemed to slow for Mario, as he could do nothing but watch in horror as Waluigi split the air with a punch of unimaginable force that collided with Luigi's jaw.

Mario's brother was unconscious before he hit the stadium wall. He hit the ground lifelessly, and rolled to a stop on the arena ground. Mario's mouth was agape in horror. Peach couldn't speak, as tears began to fall from her eyes, and Tendo's eyes narrowed. Toadsworth staggered back, stuttering, as he couldn't seem to articulate his words to describe what was happening.

Mario turned to the Waluigi creature and yelled, "YOU-A!" and leaped at him, flashing out with a punch, but it was caught and halted. Mario trembled, unable to move his fist forward, as Wario stood before him, unflinching. Wario's golden eyes narrowed in what appeared to be a look of savage glee, and all of the sudden, Mario was blasted back into a wall near the fallen Luigi. The hit was so hard Mario fell to his knees, but caught himself before he could fall facedown. Wario's golden eyes widened, and he opened his boney mouth and a yellow light began to glow, and splinters of yellow energy began to gather from the air. Mario shielded his light from the eyes, and as he attempted to get to his feet, he realized he couldn't move.

"No!" cried Peach.

Kirby continued to shake, groaning in what appeared to be fear. Air began to spiral around Wario's mouth, as the yellow light got brighter and brighter. Wario drew his head back, and Peach screamed as Wario fired an enormous blast of yellow energy from his mouth straight at Mario. Mario could do nothing as the blast hit full force, obscuring the entire area in a dark explosion, which covered both him and his brother.

Mario awoke in a completely black space, standing/floating in the darkness. He looked around in bewilderment. Then he turned around, and behind him was a figure in a black coat, with white symbols. His face was completely obscured by the hood. Mario took a step back. "…?" spoke the figure in a deep voice. Mario's expression turned questioning, as the figure had clearly said something, but he still hadn't heard anything. His eyes narrowed . The darkness seemed to pulse around the two. The figure slowly rose his hand as if offering it to Mario, and suddenly, two focused yellow eyes with black pupils gleamed out from the hood, along with a dark smile. Mario grimaced, and drew back. The blackness surrounding him pulsed again.

"Journey with me…..into the darkness!"

Suddenly, the dark energy was split apart by an uprising of crimson energy. Peach gasped, still in tears. Air whipped around voraciously, and Toadsworth was blasted from his standing position. The crowd was yelling in confusion, and Marth and Roy just watched in utter shock. Tendo gazed on in bewilderment… then he recoiled, causing Metaknight looked at him. Tendo's eyes were wide, and he muttered, "Hmm."

Metaknight's eyes suddenly widened to, and he turned quickly as he too felt what Tendo had felt. There were pulses of energy radiating from the smoke in the arena…and they weren't coming from Wario and Waluigi. The smoke slowly parted, revealing the figure of Mario. But he looked different. His entire body was jet black in color, and his eyes were a glowing red, churning. Peach fell to her knees, still in shock.

"The energy coming off him…."spoke Roy in shock. Mario didn't move an inch, as the waves of crimson energy whipped and swirled around his body. Then he rose his eyes, and they locked with Wario's. Pressure blasted outwards at the crowd, even Tendo had to shield himself.

Mario then turned his head to the fallen figure of Luigi. Luigi's eyes were closed, as he was unconscious, tattered, and wounded. But despite that, suddenly, they popped open, revealing a glowing green. Dark green energy ripped outwards, as Luigi stood, his body also jet black just like Mario's.

"His power just shot up too…." muttered Marth, wondering what was happening around him.

The dark Mario turned back to the Wario and Waluigi creatures, with Luigi at his side. Then, Mario completed vanished in a flash, and Wario was blasted back instantly into a wall, rebounded as the figure of the dark Mario crouched under him for a split second, and flashed up with a brutal uppercut that sent Wario ripping into the sky.

Waluigi hesitated for a brief moment but then rushed at Luigi, who crouched down and rushed right back at him, and they collided in a fury of blows. Luigi dodged every strike, then one connected, but he powered right through, and connected with a punch right to Waluigi's jaw. Waluigi hit the wall with unbelievable force, but before he could even drop, Luigi was right there, and with unbelievable ferocity, pounded Waluigi with relentless punches that began to crack the wall more and more. Waluigi's mouth began to glow with an eerie purple light, and opened his mouth sending Luigi reeling back with a purple energy blast. As Luigi was pushed back by it, he eventually touched the ground, skidded a bit (still holding the blast), and reflected it skywards, and rushed forward at Waluigi again.

Waluigi fired purple bolts of energy at Luigi as he ran at him, but Luigi swerved out of the way of each one, picking up speed, finally brutally deflecting a blast as if the force didn't even faze him. Tendo's eyes widened, and he quickly snapped his fingers as the blasts collided with the arena shields. As Waluigi opened his mouth to fire another purple bolt, Luigi closed the gap, and thrusted his hand an inch from the bone mouth as Waluigi fired the blast, and the result caused an explosion of energy that coursed around the stadium.

Wario still flew upwards from the force, finally slowing down and he gazed down to see a dark shape flying at him at unbelievable speed. Wario drew his arms in a cross to block a ferocious punch from Mario. He countered with a punch of his own, but Mario dodged, and kicked at Wario, but he also swiveled to the side to dodge. He reappeared in a flash, and punched Mario in the face downwards, and dived down after to follow with another blow, but Mario disappeared in a flash of speed. Wario opened his mouth, which again began to emit a yellow glow. He looked up, and fired the yellow blast right at Mario. The dark plumber drew both hands forward, and caught the blast, drew both arms back, and blasted it right back at Wario, who could do nothing as the full force of his own energy smacked him, resulting in a grand explosion of energy.

Meanwhile, Luigi hopped back in a crouch, as Waluigi dived at him, and swiped at him, but he vanished in a puff of smoke to a location to the right, which Waluigi glanced at, before disappeared again, and flashing out from the left with a punch that Waluigi dodged. Luigi vanished again with intense speed, and Waluigi opened his mouth as if in expectance of this. With a ruthless shriek, he fired a flurry of purple blasts in a wide radius all around him, causing dark purple explosions to circle him. There was silence, and then from the dark energy, a roar erupted that totally dispersed all the energy from Waluigi's blasts, as a shockwave ripped through the very arena itself. Luigi bolted from the smog with unbelievable speed, and drew his fist backwards which pulsed with green energy, and punched Waluigi right in the jaw, so hard the bone cracked, sending him blasting into the opposite wall, crashing into the rubble.

At the same moment, Wario crashed into a nearby area, and Mario appeared instantly beside Luigi. From the arena boundaries, the arena seemed to be growing darker. An inky blackness seemed to appear from nothingness. At the same moment, suddenly, two blasts, one purple and one yellow shot out of the rubble, arcing straight at the dark Mario and Luigi. As brightness began to illuminate the arena, the blasts drew nearer, and melded into one super powerful force. Mario and Luigi didn't move as the blast got nearer and nearer….then they both drew back their fists, and punched the blast right as it was about to hit them.

The collision sent waves of energy trailing everywhere as the blast was halted…. Then it dispersed outwards around Mario and Luigi in purple and yellow trails. Mario and Luigi still had their one fist each out, un-moving. Then, Mario's mouth opened in a maniacal grin very unlike him. He flexed his hand, and a dark red light began to shine into being from it. The air turned cold, and the wind picked up, revealing the Wario and Waluigi creatures, and the crowd gasped at what they saw. All around both Wario and Waluigi, black shadowy creatures with piercing yellow eyes were rising from the nothingness. The creatures continued to appear, numerous, all around the stage, rising from the black shadows.

Some of them suddenly leaped at the Wario bros, curling around them like glue, rendering them immobile. The other one's just seemed to stagger around, as if waiting.

Tendo looked utterly perplexed, as if he couldn't understand what was happening, and he stayed silent. Kirby let out a quiet frightened sound, trembling. Luigi also flexed his hand, which began to emit a dark green light. The air picked up again, and suddenly both lights seemed to combust outwards, casting dark shadows all around. Air continued to swirl at a greater velocity than before.

"Damn…I was hoping I wouldn't have to get involved, especially in something I don't completely understand…" muttered Tendo.

He stood up tall, and put a hand on the black sheath, and rose it to his face. Peach turned to him with tears, and pleaded, "Please…What's happening to them..."

Tendo said nothing, before, "Sorry, Princess." Her eyes widened as he spoke with a note of something new, something that could be described as intrigue. "I don't know."

The dark light grew brighter, as if in response. Both Mario and Luigi's mouths widened in what could have been perceived as anticipation, but suddenly, something happened.

"Don't fear the Darkness."

A voice spoke. No one appeared to hear it…..but Mario and Luigi seemed to hesitate for a split second. A dim light began to shine in each of their free hands.

"Don't give in to it."

The light shined brighter than before, casting a brighter glow. The shadowy creatures in the arena began to move erratically as the light began to shine stronger.

"For You both have the most powerful weapons in this world…"

The light exploded outwards as a weapon of strange origin and shape appeared in both their hands, too bright to see, and the light obscured everything, obliterating the shadowy creatures, and engulfing Mario, Luigi, Wario and Waluigi, even the entire stadium.


	6. Chapter 6

Luigi woke up with a start. He quickly looked around, and found he was lying in a bed. As he surveyed the room, he realized he was in Peach's Castle, in the infirmary. He looked to the side again, and saw Mario lying in another bed, also seemingly coming to.

"Mama mia…." muttered the red plumber. He looked around as well, realizing the same thing Luigi realized a few moments ago.

Then, a figure walked in, saw the two brothers awake, and let out a gasp. The brothers instantly recognized Princess Peach, who ran towards them and wrapped them both in a hug.

"Mario! Luigi! I was so worried…" she let them go, tears in her eyes.

"W- What-a happened?" asked Mario, looking dazed and confused.

Peach took a step back, looking strangely at Mario. "You don't remember?"

Mario shook his head. She turned to Luigi, who also shook his head. Both of them looked completely perplexed. Peach took a deep breath.

"You both were fighting Wario and Waluigi…and they- they transformed into these creatures…" Peach choked on her words, then continued, "You both didn't stand a chance. They were killing you…. But then…"

She stopped. Mario was staring intently in wonder, as was Luigi. "You both changed. Something happened in that darkness that made you both different. You both lashed out at Wario and Waluigi, and they didn't stand a chance…"

Mario pondered that. He vaguely remembered a figure in a dark coat, but even then, he struggled to remember what exactly had happened, unable to successfully recall anything chronologically. He glanced at Luigi, who to Mario's surprise, seemed to be thinking something similar. Mario wondered for a moment if both of them had seen the same thing, but Peach continued, banishing the thought.

"You were about to finish the job, when waves of light started coming off both of you. It was blinding, and I couldn't even see what happened."

Mario and Luigi just stared, clearly not understanding.

"But…that was the end! When the light disappeared, all four of you were completely unconscious, and the fight ended. Tendo called you both the winners because before the very end, Wario and Waluigi were completely outmatched."

Mario was quiet, but then spoke to Peach, asking if Tendo had any idea what had occured.

"No, even Tendo didn't know. I'm sorry, Mario. In fact….the semifinals are now over. You and Luigi slept through the last fight." responded Peach.

Mario and Luigi both gasped and fell out of their beds in surprise. Peach actually cracked a smile, and the brothers could tell it was the first she had smiled in quite a while, as she looked exhausted from worry.

"What-a happened then! With-a Kirby?" asked Luigi.

Peach sat down. "After you and Mario, and Wario and Waluigi were transported to the healing chambers…." Peach's mind flashed back to that earlier moment, and she began to explain to the Mario Brothers what had occurred a short while ago.

_Roy and Marth both leaped down into the broken and cracked arena, and Tendo looked down in slight surprise. _

"_Well?" asked Marth. "You want to finish? Now?" asked Tendo. His eyes narrowed. _

"_Of course." Roy spoke up, and he looked at the opponents before me. "Now….come on."_

_Suddenly, Metaknight was on the arena himself in a flash. His eyes were narrowed as well. _

"_You'd be wise not to underestimate me." _

_He unsheathed his golden blade and whipped it back in a challenging manner. Peach turned, and looked at Kirby. Kirby was looking down at the arena. _

"_Please be careful…" she spoke softly. _

_Kirby turned, and smiled a big smile. Then he dived into the arena, and landed beside Metaknight. Tendo was frowning, as if he didn't truly agree with this course of action. As Peach watched, she could clearly tell he was perturbed about the events that just occurred. _

_However, he sighed, and said, "Whatever. Whenever you're both ready!" _

_Marth immediately took off directly at the two adversaries, and slashed at Metaknight, but he disappeared in an instantaneous movement. Marth, however didn't stop moving, took another lightning step and slashed directly at Kirby, who ducked to dodge, lifted his food to dodge another, and hopped back, landing almost sideways on a slanted rock to dodge , and then bounded upwards to dodge the final strike. He opened his mouth, and inhaled some of the debris. Marth looked up, and to his surprise, a Kirby-rock was plummeting down at him, but Marth rolled out of the way. _

_As this happened, Metaknight appeared in front of Roy, and brutally slashed several times at his body, but Roy dodged two, and countered the third with a retaliation blow, sending Metaknight into the air. Roy bounded into the sky in pursuit, and Metaknight's cape suddenly became two large bat-like wings, and he dived back down at Roy. The red-haired swordsman slashed at Metaknight, who swerved to the side to dodge, and kicked Roy with a vicious side kick that sent him spiraling into the ground, knocking debris outward. _

_Metaknight landed quickly, his wings turning back into a cape, skidding across the broken terrain. He watched the debris slowly clear, and leaped back in surprise as suddenly, fire erupted outwards, and numerous waves of fire shot across the ground at Metaknight, who leaped over one, slid to dodge another, and then cut through three more… then all of the sudden, he turned, feeling a presence to his side, and saw the shape of Roy, some of his clothes burning with a powerful flame like energy, and their swords collided with unbelievable force. _

_Kirby dodged another swipe by Marth, and ducked under another. He then hopped up, and kicked up at Marth's arm, distorting his swordplay. Kirby smiled lightly, and Marth's eyes widened, as Kirby flipped, and grabbed swordsman's cape, turning to throw him to the side, sending him careening through the air. The puffball opened his mouth, and puffed out enough air to push him at Marth, lashing out with a kick, but Marth caught the kick in mid-air, even as he continued to fly backwards. Kirby gasped, as Marth smirked. He tossed Kirby forwards, touched the ground, and yelled, slashing the air creating a blue shockwave that hit Kirby full force, smashing him into an arena wall. _

_Metaknight and Roy were still locked in a standstill…then Roy's eyes glinted with intent. _

"_Burst…," Metaknight's eyes widened as his mind flashed back to Roy's battle with Link. "Flare!" he finished, and he whipped his blade at the ground, resulting in a colossal explosion. _

_There was smoke all around the stadium, and the figure of Roy stepped through._

"_Hmm…. you leaped back enough to avoid a fatal blow," he spoke. He sounded slightly impressed._

_The smoke dispersed, and there stood Metaknight, breathing hard, but still on his feet. He turned, and saw Marth, also on his feet, looking at a hole in the arena. _

"_Perhaps you'd like to concede?" Roy asked, with a smirk. _

_Metaknight closed his eyes. Then, a sound started emanating from him, under the mask. Roy grimaced as he realized that the sound was laughter. Metaknight reached into the side of his cape. _

"_I thought this would come in handy." He said. Roy's eyes widened as he realized it was another blade. He quickly reacted by raising his blade in defense. Then, Metaknight did something unexpected. The masked knight suddenly launched the blade, tip first, at Marth. _

_Marth turned in surprise, and dodged just in time, and the blade flew past him into the rubble and dust. _

"_Huh?" muttered Roy, his eyes narrowing. Then, the dust blasted back, as a rising current of wind pushed it aside. Roy and Marth's eyes widened, as there were five flashes of light and suddenly, they were hit with shockwaves of energy, three hitting Marth, two hitting Roy, and both were expelled backwards, hitting the ground on their feet, after skidding from the pressure of the blows. _

"_What…!" muttered Marth. _

_Then his eyes widened, as he remembered Metaknight throwing the blade. "You!" grimaced Roy as he, too, realized what his adversary had done. A second later, a small figure bounded out of the smog, and landed next to Metaknight. The crowd gasped, and Tendo smirked in expectance. Metaknight glanced sideways to look at the figure. _

"_Nice to see you up…Kirby." _

_There stood Kirby, though he looked slightly different. He was wearing a green and yellow "sleeping cap" on his head, and he now held a small silver sword. (its gold in the picture, but, silver)_

_Metaknight stood taller, and under his mask, it was almost like he was smirking. _

"_Ready for round two?" he asked Kirby. _

_Kirby smiled happily, and crouched with his sword drawn back at the ready, and Metaknight did the same. Then, in a split second, Kirby took off in a blaze of speed, far faster than before, and Marth swung at Kirby, but Kirby completely slid under the strike, and swung straight at Roy, who barely blocked in surprise and pushed back. Kirby struck five more times in rapid succession, and Roy blocked four of the blows, before finally having to dodge the final one given the quickness of the strikes. He retaliated with a fiery swing, but Kirby bounded into the air, and slowly drew his sword back, as if preparing for something. Then, with high velocity and a shout, Kirby slashed his sword, and seemingly split the air, creating a white shockwave of dynamic proportions, careening down at…Marth! _

_Roy looked in surprise, and he saw a dark shape to his side, as Metaknight lashed out with a vicious thrust aimed at Marth, who quickly blocked the blow as the shockwave neared. Roy recoiled in anger, and leaped after Metaknight, as Marth looked up, drew his sword back, and roared, "SHIELD BREAKER!" and thrusted the tip of his sword right at the forefront of the wave. _

_At the very moment the two collided, the light "shattered" outwards. It split the arena, glittering like shards of glass, and wind swirled around the entire arena. Peach had to shield herself from the recoil, as the two forces chiseled away at each other. Then, suddenly, the shockwave "cracked". Particles shattered outward, and Marth let out a final yell, as the shockwave finally exploded, particles of light flying everywhere as the energy dispersed. _

_Kirby fell to the ground, landing lightly on his feet. He stared at Marth, who returned the gaze. Marth took off at Kirby, and slashed twice, but Kirby dodged and blocked, retaliating with a spinning slash that Marth ducked under. Marth swung at Kirby's foot, but Kirby stepped on the sword, and used it to jump into the air, and aim a downward thrust at Marth, but he blocked, and Kirby flipped, and landed, taking off at Marth once more. Marth got into a ready stance, but suddenly Kirby turned while running, and threw his blade to the side._

_Metaknight dodged a fire wave from Roy, and countered with a flurry of spinning strikes, that Roy blocked. _

_He ducked under and leaped upwards with his sword drawn back, and yelled, "Burst…!" _

_Metaknight saw something out of the corner of his eye, a flash of light, and flashed his free hand out to catch a silver blade. _

_Just as Roy yelled "Flare!", Metaknight rose both blades, and fire and force blasted outwards as Metaknight blocked the strike. Roy was hit with the recoil from the force, and Metaknight tossed the blade up, as Roy skidded to a halt; but then Roy heard a sound above him. He looked up, and there was Kirby, stabbing down at him. _

_Marth, however, suddenly appeared with his sword drawn, and swung at Kirby, but Metaknight appeared in turn, aiming at Marth. Roy, in turn, aimed at Metaknight. The four let out a shout and swung at full force, and there was a huge clash in the center, a perfect stalemate. For a moment, there was nothing, as they stood there forces repelling each other. Then they all broke apart, and disappeared. There were flashes of light all around stadium as the sound of steel hitting steel resounded indefinitely. Air blasted every which way as shapes too fast to see struck at each other again and again. Then all of the sudden, the shapes split apart, and Kirby and Metaknight skidded outward. _

"_Kirby!" yelled Metaknight, and Kirby nodded, and he drew back his sword as Kirby leaped on top of the steel blade. Metaknight swung forward full force, sending a shockwave of energy forward with Kirby riding on hit directly at their enemies. _

_Marth and Roy also skidded back. Roy smirked, and looked at Marth, and as Marth sheathed his blade and drew back, Roy hopped up. and as Roy's foot connected with the tip of the sheath, Marth yelled, "Shield Breaker!". _

_Roy was sent rocketing forward right at Kirby. He drew his sword back, which sparked with untold fire as Kirby drew his blade back, which seemed to glint in an unnatural light, and Kirby dived off the shockwave right at Roy, who roared, and swung his fiery blade as Kirby swung his with a yell. _

_The collision cut a path of destruction right through the very arena itself, blasting debris and earth around, and obscuring everyone in the arena, and a blue light erupted outwards that blinded everyone in the stands as air still throttled backwards._

_A few moments passed….and the smoke slowly cleared. Peach stood up shakily, having fallen back from the blow, and looked down at the arena. She gasped, as she saw Kirby, on his stomach, clearly injured, and Metaknight was on the ground as well. She looked to the other side….. and saw Roy and Marth still stood, looking ragged, but still raring to go. _

_Tendo closed his eyes, and shook his head. _

_Roy said nothing. He looked at the two fighters for a moment, as if sizing them up. Then, he closed his eyes. He turned his back, and was about to sheath his sword, Marth as well, until a voice said. _

"_Wait!" Roy turned, and Tendo looked in surprise. _

_Metaknight was struggling to stand, trying to get to his feet. "This….isn't…over," he growled, still struggling. _

_Roy said nothing, neither did Marth. _

_Tendo said, "Well…it looks like this fight is-….!" He stopped abruptly. _

_Metaknight's eyes widened. Roy stopped, and slowly turned again, and his eyes widened, as he saw Kirby slowly stagger to his feet, his blade form lost from the struggle. Marth's eyes also widened, in shock. Kirby staggered a few steps, but stayed on his feet. _

_Roy looked at Kirby for a few moments, unmoving. _

_Kirby said nothing, but Roy could see in his eyes that he had no intention of simply giving up. _

"_Kirby….,"muttered Metaknight. _

_He saw how weak and disoriented his partner was, and it hit him how ragged they both were. At that moment, he could see the truth: they were in no condition to continue the fight. He clenched his gloved hands. _

"_Stop. We've…..lost." _

_Kirby looked at Metaknight with a piercing gaze that froze him, but then smiled. Kirby turned and looked back and Roy and Marth. He gave a knowing smirk with narrowed eyes, and he opened his mouth, as he began to inhale. _

"_What…?" said Marth quietly, not understanding. _

_Kirby continued to suck up air. Roy's eyes narrowed, and he smirked._

"_I'm surprised you have anything left…I admire your spirit. But it's not enough. You can't beat me."_

_Metaknight's eyes widened, when he heard this, but he still could not get up, no matter how hard he struggled. _

_Roy completely turned to face his adversary, who was continuing to suck up air. He redrew his blade, and brandished it at Kirby, and the blade caught fire._

_Marth seemed to grin, and he also redrew his blade. Metaknight looked into the two's eyes as they stared, and seemed to understand something; they wanted Kirby to hit them with everything he had. _

_The pink spud seemed to also understand this, and he slowly drew his body back, and he opened his mouth wider, and suddenly, this time he inhaled air; but this time, it was different. Blue light began to sparkle from the very atmosphere itself, flowing into Kirby's mouth, collecting._

_Peach watched in fascination, as Metaknight could say nothing as he just watched as light shined around the arena, flowing into Kirby's body. Marth and Roy only could watch as the lights grew brighter, bathing them in a powerful glow. Kirby then stopped absorbing, and closed his mouth. Nothing happened for a moment. Then, Kirby bloated a bit._

_Marth caught a look at Kirby's eye, and saw it completely focused. His mouth opened in disbelief and he let out a shout as Kirby opened his mouth, and with a great cry, fired a colossal beam of swirling bluish-white energy from his maw directly at the two swordsmen. _

_Tendo yelped in shock, as the beam lit up the stadium itself, curving the air itself to its will. _

_Roy and Marth could only stand in shock as the beam engulfed the area in a shining vortex. From the outside of the stadium, the beam tore right through the very construct shields, continuing into the sky, shining like a beacon. As it traveled further, the light slowly diminished, as Kirby stopped expelling the energy. _

_He staggered, smoke coming out of his mouth, and then fell to the ground on his face, unmoving. _

_Metaknight was in complete shock, still on the ground. _

"_He-He collected the energy from his surroundings!" he thought, trembling._

"_And he fired it as a beam of unstoppable energy." finished Tendo from the stands. He looked to his side, and gazed at the large hole in the stadium shields. No spectators seemed to be harmed, as the blast had arced upwards before they could be caught in the crossfire. _

_Metaknight's eyes narrowed as he trembled, and he punched the ground in anger. In the arena, Roy and Marth still stood, unmoving. The beam had missed them entirely, but the damage it had wrought was unbelievable, carving up the ground around them. _

_Roy shook in an unknown emotion. Marth's eyes were still wide. _

"_If he had hit us with that…." He thought. He couldn't finish his thought. Then his eyes focused, as Metaknight finally got to his feet. _

_The masked knight said nothing for a moment. Then, "We concede." _

_He swiped his cape around him, and disappeared. Roy said nothing for a moment, but then plunged his sword into the ground. For a moment, he stood there, then he removed the sword, and sheathed it. He looked at Kirby's unconscious body, and nodded slightly, before turning around and walking away. _

_Marth still looked at Kirby, and then sheathed his sword, and bowed in his direction. Then he looked up at Tendo. _

"_Take care of him." he said, and he turned and followed Roy. _

_Tendo smirked, and snapped his fingers as Kirby disappeared in a flash of light. "And that ends that."_

Mario and Luigi were completely silent as Peach finished recounting the events of the semi-final bout.

"That ended the semi-finals. Both of you are fighting Roy and Marth tomorrow," she finished. Mario clenched his fist, but said nothing, and Luigi just stared. Peach sighed, and stood up. Then she smiled.

"Kirby and Metaknight both fought hard, so you shouldn't feel bad. Just make sure you give it your all! The entire kingdom's behind you both, and you've never let us down! And yes, I mean you too, Luigi." , to which Luigi looked up in surprise.

"I'll let you both get some rest, you both need it," Peach finished, and she smiled, and walked to the door, opened it, and shut it behind her. Mario laid back in the bed, as did Luigi in his own.

"Luigi." Luigi turned, and said, "Yes-a?" Mario rose his hand to the sky, and then clenched it. "We're-a going to win-a." he said. Luigi smiled, and nodded.

As Peach left the room, her expression turned to one of worry. She walked down a hall to her castle, and turned to a golden door, shaped like a star. She raised her hand, which glowed in a pink energy, and touched the door, as the door unlocked itself, and she stepped through. She walked forward, and stopped at a force field in the center of a circular room.

In it, was a dark colored mushroom, coursing with a sinuous black and purple energy. Her mind flashed back to the end of the semi-finals.

Tendo had approached her, holding the mushroom, and of course she had gasped, wondering what the mushroom was and why it was emitting such a malevolent energy.

"This was in the stadium rubble," he had said. "After the brothers'…transformation, I felt traces of a similar energy coming from this thing. I ignored it during the last fight, because it seemed no one else noticed. But it looks very old. Even…ancient."

He paused, and had said, "Protect this, because it's not my place to. Keep it safe, because whatever it is, or where it came from, it's not good news." Peach mind returned to the present, as she looked at the mushroom. The dark energy continued to swirl around the mushroom. She turned around, and left the room, the door shutting behind her.

As the final battle approached…..


	7. Chapter 7

The Day of the Finals….

Mario was the first to wake from his sleep. He looked around, and realized that he was in their own home, rather than Peach's Castle infirmary. He guessed that Peach and the Toads had carried him and Luigi home during their long rest. He slowly stood up, thinking about what he had to do was to come; then, he took a deep breath. After putting on his trademark uniform and red cap, he left his room and saw Luigi, looking out one of the windows, shaking.

Mario looked at Luigi's back for a few moments, and then said, "Luigi, let's-a go."

Luigi turned, startled to see Mario. He paused for a moment, then nodded. They both departed from their house, and were met Peach and Toadsworth right outside their front door. Mario was slightly surprised to see them waiting, but he smiled: he knew he wouldn't have this final journey begin any other way.

Peach looked at Mario with a smile, and asked, "Mario, Luigi, are you both ready? There wasn't a lot of time to heal…."

Mario smiled and nodded, and Luigi gave a shaky nod.

Toadsworth turned, and the said, "Let's get to it then, young masters!", and they all began walking to the designated warp pipe area.

As they neared the area, Toadsworth turned and exclaimed, "Wait!"

Everyone stopped, and turned, listening.

"Master Mario, let's walk and talk for a moment before we enter, shall we?" he said. Mario looked questioningly at Peach, but she shrugged. Mario nodded in trepidation, and followed Toadsworth out of Luigi and Peach's earshot.

Toadsworth turned to Mario, looked at him. Mario stared back, wondering what this could be about.

"Master Mario, this is it. The final round." Mario said nothing. "These two opponents are not going to just hand you the victory, and you shouldn't expect, or desire anything akin to your scuffle with Wario and Waluigi to occur now. You're going to have to get through this with your own strength and willpower, as you always have!"

Toadsworth sighed and began to pace. "I can see in your eyes, in spite of your usual calm demeanor, you're worried about this match…. Specifically, for Master Luigi."

For a split second, Mario's eyes gave away his surprise, and he looked down.

Toadsworth stopped pacing, and he looked directly into Mario's eyes, and said, "He's your brother, Master Mario. Despite his timid nature, he is perfectly capable of defeating the opponents that stand before him, and overcoming his own fears. You saw for yourself in the first match, didn't you?"

He paused, and continued, "This is one match where I'm almost certain somewhere along the lines, you'll both be required to completely concentrate. You'll need to focus all your attention on the person that stands before you, because he'll be focused on you. You're both something of the 'underdogs' of this little escapade."

Toadsworth reached into a pocket, and pulled out a red and yellow colored flower, emitting a slight red flaming aura. Mario's eyes widened in recognition.

"I'm giving this to you as a failsafe, just in case. However…you can only use this when you're truly ready to focus, only on the fight you're sure to have on your hands. After all, you know how potent and dangerous these Fire Flowers are, eh?"

Mario took the flower from Toadsworth, and looked at it for a second, and stowed it away in a pocket.

Then, Toadsworth's mouth split into a wide smile. "Just take home the gold, Master Mario. The Princess and I both know you and Master Luigi can do it! No doubt!" He turned, and walked back to the warp pipe area. Mario looked at elder toad as he walked away, thinking about the words he had just spoken. Everything he and Luigi had been through within the past few days seemed to circulate around him. The red brother smiled, and followed Toadsworth back to the pipe.

As Toadsworth led Mario away, Luigi and Peach were both left standing in the empty warp pipe area. Neither of them said a word. Peach glanced at Luigi, and saw he was shaking again, looking frightened.

"Luigi?" she asked. Luigi stopped shaking and turned, and saw the princess looking at him. He put on a quick smile, as if to say that everything was ok. Peach smiled back, then pretended to look away, all while continuing to sneak glances at Luigi. Sure enough, as she pretended to look away, he began to shake and quiver again. She could clearly see that Luigi was scared about the coming confrontation.

Peach closed her eyes, and then turned, and walked over to Luigi, and put her hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be all right, Luigi. You can do this…you know we all have the utmost faith in you."

Luigi seemed to calm down at these words, but he still didn't reply, and then Mario and Toadsworth re-appeared in the clearing.

"Is everyone ready?" Toadsworth asked.

Mario looked at Luigi, and Luigi looked down, then back. Mario nodded, and turned to the golden pipe. Luigi gave a shaky nod, and also turned to the pipe. They both stood still for a moment, and Mario and Luigi leaped into the pipe, with Peach and Toadsworth behind them.

Mario and Luigi popped out of the pipe in humongous broken arena. They were instantly greeted by a thunderous noise, and they looked around to see stands completely surrounding the arena, with an unbelievable amount of cheering fans and spectators. From those top stands, Peach and Toadsworth stood, looking down at them. Peach looked around, but saw no one from the previous fights.

Toadsworth apparently knew what she was thinking, and he said, "Worry not, Princess. I know for a fact that the other wounded contenders are still being healed by Master Tendo. Our own Masters would have been in the same boat had they not won their semifinal bout."

Peach nodded. Then, Toadsworth pointed down, and said, "Princess!" Peach looked down, and the spectators again began to cheer, because Roy and Marth had entered the arena. They both walked forward, towards Mario and Luigi. Mario grimaced, and also stepped forward and began to walk. Luigi followed slowly.

Roy's eyes never left Mario, and Mario's never left Roy's, and they stopped about 10 feet from each other. Marth and Luigi did the same. The spectators quieted. A tension seemed to spark between the fighters, especially Mario and Roy. Roy's hand slowly reached for his sword handle, while Mario's fist clenched, and a small fire burst into being, surrounding it.

"Hey, hey!" said a voice, seemingly out of nowhere.

Mario's fire dissipated, and Roy's hand lowered away from his blade, and Tendo suddenly appeared in the arena, in a flash of light. "Calm down, guys. Jeez…." Tendo scratched his head, with a sigh. He then opened his eyes with a smirk, and fixed his black eyes on Mario, and then Roy.

"First, let me explain a little bit of history about where we are now. First, the reason this arena is so battered and broken?" Tendo paused, and then said, "A great battle, the likes of which you all have never seen, occurred here a long time ago. Well…here and there. Kinda…. It's hard to explain."

He paused, shaking his head, before continuing, "An army of unbelievable proportions, led by a god, a deity of unbelievable power tried to destroy and change this place, and many others. This is where one of the many battles took place."

There was a silence, as everyone listened.

"The deity and his army were defeated, and sealed in a separate dimension to be trapped and isolated for the rest of time. So, given the nature of this battle, one can assume this field has distinct….properties."

Tendo snapped his fingers, and at every corner of the arena, a glowing hole in space appeared, colored silver, totaling five. "The collision caused these rifts to form in the very space. If you enter one of these portals, you'll be taken to a different area. Of course, by jumping into another one, you could come back here, or go to a different area entirely. All these areas are connected one way or another. But enter at your own risk."

Tendo then turned. "From the large 'screen' in the air, I'll be able to see both fights simultaneously. Obviously, the winner of this fight is the winner of the tournament. Both members of the team must be unable to continue fighting to be declared losers."

He disappeared from sight, and appeared on the top stands.

"Roy, Marth." He looked at them.

"Mario, Luigi." He turned to them.

"Winner takes all here."

Mario turned to Roy, and spun into his battle stance. Roy drew his blade, and pointed it at Mario. Marth drew his sword, and Luigi shook and crouched slightly.

Peach crossed her hands in prayer, and Toadsworth's eyes widened in expectation. The spectators were totally silent, waiting with bated breath.

"Fight," spoke Tendo, and even though he didn't yell, it carried throughout the entire area, and Mario and Roy's eyes widened as the pressure around them both increased as they both leaped at each other, and collided with a blow that rocketed them into one of the portals.

Mario flew out of the portal into a barren dusty area with few trees, similar to a wasteland. He skidded on the ground, and turned. Roy flew out and did the same. They looked at each other, then Roy shook his head in disdain.

"I'll warn you right now." Mario's eye twitched, as Roy continued, "Show me the power you used to defeat the other two during the semifinals. If you don't….." Roy cocked his blade back. His eyes narrowed, as he finished, "This'll be quick."

Mario's eyes narrowed, and he lashed out directly at Roy with a brutal kick, but Roy blocked with his forearm. They were suspended in space for a moment, and then Roy swung his blade to cut at Mario's torso, but Mario managed to dodge, landed in a crouch, and sweep kick twice at Roy's feet. Roy rolled out of the way, and cleaved his sword through the ground vertically, straight at Mario, whose eyes widened as he sidestepped just in time, feeling the heat from the wave of fire. Mario stood there for a moment in complete shock as Roy spoke quietly, "Burst…" then Mario snapped back to reality as swordsman slashed forward, and said, "Flare."

"Mama Mia!" cried Mario, and a fiery explosion overtook him and Roy.

From the original stadium, Tendo watched the viewing portal he created in the air, along with the roaring spectators. Peach looked worried as she watched…. As the smoke cleared, the figure of Mario appeared, looking slightly bruised and battered, but standing in defiance. It also showed Roy, and for a moment, his eyes glinted red with intent as he instantly dashed forward at Mario once more.

Luigi and Marth had entered another portal, this one being a more rocky and jagged area. Luigi had a look of fear on his face, surveying the area around him, then he caught movement, and dived out of the way as suddenly a large rock behind him was split in half, and the figure of Marth skidded to a halt.

Marth slowly stood, surveyed Luigi, and then dashed right at him, and cut at his body three times, and Luigi quickly dodged twice, then hopped back, and wall jumped over the blade and Marth to dodge the final cut. The moment he touched down, he grimaced, and then cried in fear, and took off in the opposite direction.

Marth glared, and followed in hot pursuit. Luigi dodged five of Marth's strikes in motion, diving out of the way, and leaping across the rocks, until Marth suddenly disappeared in a flash of quick movement.

Luigi looked back for a moment, and then suddenly Marth was under him, and thrusted upwards with his hilt, knocking the wind out of Luigi, his mouth agape in pain. He careened into the air, and Marth bounded after him, turning the sword around, and aiming a thrust right at Luigi in an attempt to decisively finish the fight.

As Luigi still spasmed in pain, his eyes wide, his mind flashed back to the point in which Mario fought Zero. As Marth's blade neared his open torso, he reacted instantly: Marth's eye's showed slight surprise, as his thrust collided with the head of Luigi's hammer.

Sparks flew back, but then Marth drew back, drawing his sheath with his other hand, and slammed slammed it into Luigi's shoulder, sending Luigi straight into the ground, his hammer falling after him into the dust. Marth twirled his sheath, and smoothly re-synched it to his side, and landed in a crouch, standing before the dust cloud. He twirled his sword around, flicked it, and the dust blew away, as if cut aside. Through the dust, Luigi still stood shakily, holding his hammer, looking frightened out of his mind. Marth grimaced, and he drew back his blade once more, and said, "Well?", as if taunting Luigi. Luigi twitched a few times and then cried wildly as he ran at Marth, hammer drawn.

At the same point in the wasteland area, Mario dodged a shockwave of fire, running at full speed as Roy dove from the sky at Mario, and plunged his blade into the ground, sending a wave of pressure and fire outwards. Mario spun out of the way, and leaped towards a tree, hopping up the various branches, climbing higher and higher. Roy unstuck his blade from the ground and looked at the tree his adversary climbed.

He turned, and lashed his blade at it, and slowly, the tree began to split vertically in two, and from the bottom began to slowly burn. Mario gasped, and as he reached the top of the tree, he leaped skyward. In midair, he turned his body to face Roy, and drew his hands back. Between his two hands, a flame burst into existence, burning brighter and brighter, and he cried, "EEEEEE-YAAAH!" as he hurled the flame right at Roy, whose eyes narrowed. He didn't move as the ball drew closer and closer…and then sliced right through it. Two explosions brightened both sides of Roy, lighting his face and eyes.

Mario couldn't believe it, his mouth wide, unable to believe what he had just seen. The spectators were silent, and all of the sudden, Roy's sword ignited with the intensity of a jet burner, and he pointed his sword down, and he jetted into the sky.

Mario was only able to gasp in shock, as Roy sliced Mario 5 quick times before yelling, "Burst Flare!", engulfing him in a flame that sent him careening across the sky. He landed lightly as Mario fell to the ground far away. Roy sneered in disdain, and turned his back to the fallen Mario. From the stands, Peach gasped in horror.

Then…. "Let's-a Go!" was heard from the distance, and suddenly, a large, resounding "BOOM" was heard from the area. Roy turned, and redrew his blade, right in time to see a fireball about to crash into him. With a shout, he adeptly sliced through it.

He paused, and saw many more fireballs all careening at him, arcing through the sky. He smirked, and blitzed straight forward, dodging and swerving, slicing, and avoiding every explosion, and sent 3 shockwaves at the area where he believed Mario to be. From that area, he saw a figure of Mario dodge all three, running straight at him. Roy kept running, and his blade ignited with flame as he sped up. Mario's hands clenched tightly, and they also ignited with a fire. As they neared, both fires seemed to grow greater until they both leaped at each other, and collided once more, with greater power. Their fire's collided, clashing and swirling around each other in a torrent of energy.

From his battlefield, Luigi felt the tremor of the fiery collision. His eyes were twitching in terror, as his body was battered and beaten….Marth stood before him, not a wound on his body, not even breathing hard.

Luigi drew his arm back, and he attempted to concentrate his fire enough to throw a fireball just as Mario did, but instead of a strong flame, out came a weak ember of green. Marth didn't blink….but he instead sheathed his sword.

"Just give up." Luigi froze in surprise. "You're not cut out for this. It's obvious that you're not even as powerful as your brother, and he isn't a match for Roy, or me for that matter." He turned his back. "I actually understand what Roy was initially upset about now…."

As he said this, the spectators watched and listened silently. Peach was near tears, and Toadsworth began shouting insults at the portal. Tendo also gazed silently, listening.

"Finishing you now would be more than a waste of time: it would be dishonorable. You're too frightened to fight on your own, even if it is for your allies." He paused, and then finished, "You, yourself, aren't worth the effort." He began to walk away.

"W-W-Wait-a!" stuttered Luigi, trying to stand.

Marth's head snapped back, and he stopped. "This is your only warning. If you stand up again, without the will to fight…." His blue eyes locked with Luigi's. "I won't hold back. And I can't say you won't regret it."

At that exact moment he spoke those words, Marth's energy exploded into being for a moment, ripping at the ground itself, blasting pressure and air back. Luigi's eye's widened to the size of plates. The fight completely left his body, and his hands dropped. The energy dissipated as quickly as it had come, as Luigi lowered his head. Marth began to walk again, looking away.

'_Master Luigi is perfectly capable of fighting his own battles.'_

Marth paused, but continued to walk, even though he heard nothing, and no one, the spectators, Tendo, Peach, even Toadsworth had said anything. Tendo, from the stands, also had turned his head slightly, as if he, too had heard the echo of that memory. Then, Luigi's body twitched, and Marth stopped. The ground tremored, again from another clash of power between Roy and Mario.

'_We all believe in you.'_

The quote from Peach echoed in Luigi's head for a brief moment. Luigi slowly struggled to his feet from his knees. Tendo glanced to his side, and saw Peach and Toadsworth gazing at the portal, but they hadn't said anything. He looked back at the portal. Marth turned, and saw Luigi on his feet. He grimaced.

"Very well," he snarled. The blade suddenly glowed a bright blue, and Marth dashed straight at Luigi, and swung directly at Luigi's head…. But the blade stopped. Luigi had blocked with his hand…but an unseen force separated the blade from contact. A small arc of lightning appeared, and lanced across the ground.

'_Luigi….we're going to win.'_

The final past quote from Mario seemed to resonate within Luigi, through the very air itself, beyond the limitations of space. Luigi's teeth clenched. His eyes rose and locked with Marth's, whose eyes widened to see something different within them. The force grew greater, as the spectators, Peach, Toadsworth, all watched as the ground pulsated around Luigi, shaking the area, as more tiny tendrils of lightning and pressure encircled his entire body as he held Marth's blade at bay.

The ground around Luigi's feet splintered.

"W-what?!" Marth thought, his eyes wide, and Luigi roared, "Let's-a GO!" and with intense focus, hit Marth straight in the jaw with a furious punch that sent Marth reeling back, blasting him through the debris.

A small smile crossed Tendo's face. Peach's eyes shone, and she glanced at Tendo, but his smile was gone, and he stared intently at the portal.

Marth slowly got up, and looked forward. He picked up his blade.

"You…." He muttered. That same pressure resonated around Luigi's entire body continuously, as small tendrils and arcs of lightning arced around Luigi's person. He stood tall, glaring right into Marth's eyes, without a hint of fear or trepidation. At this, the corners of Marth's mouth actually curved upwards with the hint of a smile, as he saw the change in Luigi's behavior. He drew his blade back.

"Now…..". The steel began to glint with a voracious blue light. "Let's see what you've got."

The pressure and lightning flared around Luigi as if in response, and his eyes narrowed. He disappeared, the ground ripping apart around where he just was. Blue energy circulated around Marth as if in response, his eyes glinting blue, as he also disappeared.

Time seemed to slow, as they both were instantly in front of each other, and then shattered into normality as they both clashed, sending a wave of force back, and instantly disappeared again, and reappeared at another part of the area.

Marth lashed out with ten quick blows, but Luigi blocked all of them with his hammer, and counter attacked with a downwards swing that Marth parried. They disappeared again, and reappeared as Luigi punched at three times at Marth, but he dodged all three. Both vanished once more, and reappeared to exchange five clashing blows, and disappeared again, and finally reappeared on the ground a few steps in front of each other.

Marth yelled a wordless yell, whipping his blade at Luigi, and Luigi also yelled, swinging his hammer at Marth: the two collided at full force, sending a screaming vortex outward that obliterated everything around it in a dome of sheer destruction.

Tendo's eyes swiveled to a different aspect of the portal; apparently the force had expelled Luigi and Marth into a different battlefield. In a linear fashion, shockwave after shockwave burst outwards from the clashing of blows between Luigi and Marth, destroying everything in their path.

Finally, Marth skidded to an abrupt stopped, turned, and swung his blade right at the force that was Luigi. The blow was so powerful that Marth and Luigi stood in a grinding stalemate for a split second, but finally Luigi was sent rocketing into the air. But this time, Marth added a trick to the blow: as he followed through with the strike, a blue shockwave of intense energy flowed through the sword, ripping after the airborne Mario brother.

Luigi flip-turned, seeing the shockwave just in time, and caught the shockwave between his hands. As it forced him higher, he grimaced, and clenched his eyes. The force was outstanding, but no way was he just going to allow it through his guard. He widened his eyes with intense focus, and with a yell, pushed it to the side, as it split the sky above him.

He dived down, dodging countless shockwaves from Marth, before disappearing entirely from view.

However, Marth anticipated the blow, turned, and swung a great shockwave his back as Luigi was appearing to punch. Marth smirked, as he knew this time, there was no way his adversary could find the time to dodge this strike.

Luigi saw the wave coming at him, and in that moment, he thought about what his brother would do. He had witnessed Mario face down impossible threats before with just his willpower and faith. And Luigi knew, in that moment, that he wanted to make his brother proud of him. With a shout, he lashed out directly at the wave of energy, to Marth's shock.

Without hesitation, Luigi barreled right through the wave, and punched Marth in the stomach with a rigid strike.

Marth spat in pain, unable to move.

Luigi flashed outwards with punches and kicks, and as he kept moving forward, afterimages began appearing behind him, shadowing his previous movements as he went faster and faster.

Marth could do nothing against the rapid strikes; Luigi was simply moving too fast for him to react decisively.

Then Luigi crouched. He clenched his fist, and bounded forward at the defenseless Marth, and drew his right arm back. The pressure increased to an unstable point as the arcs of lightning crackled around his arm and hand.

"EEEE-YAH!", he shouted as he chopped Marth right in the face. The air itself cracked with noise, and the ground below him split with force as the blue haired swordsman was repulsed backwards across the terrain.

Mario and Roy stood in a stalemate of fire and energy. Both stood stalwart as their fire torched the surrounding area, swirling around them. Roy's eyes narrowed in apparent anger.

"Pathetic…" he muttered.

Mario's eyebrow rose slightly.

"You don't belong in this fight." Roy spoke. The fire on his side of the collision suddenly swirled with vicious intensity, more than before. "Tell me, 'hero', why exactly did you participate in this tournament?"

Mario's eyes widened in surprise, as Roy continued.

"You're not worthy of being here. Other teams that have been eliminated are far more capable than you." He spoke quietly, and the flames increased in heat even more. Mario slightly slid back, pushed by the force of the flames.

"Link…..Kirby, Metaknight….Every one of them fought me with all they had, and despite that, they forfeited, leaving me to pass. I had high hopes for this final battle, and I moved on….only to be 'rewarded' by this farce of a fight."

The energy then exploded with a fiery heat, and Mario was expulsed backwards, landing in a heap on the ground. He struggled to push himself up. From the smoke, the figure that was Roy walked through towards Mario.

As he walked, he spoke, "I had hoped you would be my final challenge. But you're not as strong as Link, or as Kirby. You know nothing of resolve. Your mind isn't even completely on this fight." He stopped at Mario, and stood over him. "This is a waste of my time."

He finished and he pointed his sword down at Mario's neck. As Mario stared at the tip, he caught a glance at Roy's eyes, and suddenly understood: Roy was here to test himself. Above all else, he chose to participate in this tournament against fighters who, he assumed, could and would challenge him. It was the same look that Mario had seen in the other competitors, in Metaknight, in Kirby, even in fighters such as Bowser. They were there for the same reason Mario had entered: to prove themselves.

In a flash, Mario remembered Roy's fights. His battle with Link, ending in a decisive draw; but Link had forfeited for unknown reasons. He remembered how upset Roy had looked. He also remembered Peach's retelling of Kirby and Metaknight's duel with the two swordsman. They had fought with all their might, but had fallen short, leaving Roy and Marth the victors of another forfeit. The two swordsmen had been left with this as the last opportunity to truly test themselves; and Mario was falling short of their expectations.

All of the sudden, Mario's mind flashed back to his fight with Zero, just as, unbeknownst to Mario, Luigi's had. He remembered how he had been completely outmatched, and how Luigi, despite wanting to help, couldn't do it. He perfectly remembered Luigi's face, how he had looked to the ground with apparent shame. But then… he remembered Luigi's promise to him, their promise to win. At this point, Tendo looked from Luigi's portal to Mario's.

"Come on, Mario," Tendo said quietly.

Toadsworth, turned to Tendo and asked, "What?", but Tendo didn't answer.

Mario closed his eyes for a moment…. Then, he felt something he hadn't felt before in the air around him, an energy coming from another area that felt familiar, but different and more powerful. Mario's eyes popped open, and all the sudden, he bounded upwards into the sky, as Roy's eyes widened in surprise.

He landed on his feet 20 feet away from Roy. Mario stood up, his eyes completely focused. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the red fire flower, and held it in front of him with an outstretched arm.

Roy's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. "I expected more." Then, he took off at the red plumber, intending to finish it.

His sword ignited, and he leaped into the air and roared, "Burst….FLARE!"

Mario didn't move an inch, and the flower suddenly burst into flames and evaporated into the air.

Roy swung as the area around Mario was engulfed in a fiery cataclysmic explosion that blew debris and dust everywhere.

He leaped back, as the fire smoldered in a dome around the area. The spectators gasped…. Then, Roy saw movement. His eyes widened in shock…..for a brief moment, he saw the glint of red eyes within the flame.

"What?!" he muttered, and suddenly, the flames blasted outwards, and parted, revealing Mario.

His clothes had changed color: his hat and shirt were white in color, and his blue overalls had turned a crimson red.

Roy's eyes widened in greater shock, and flames seemed to dance in Mario's eyes.

Mario prepped his fists back, and roared "LET'S-A GO!", but unlike Luigi's a bit earlier, this shout resounded and echoed across the entire stadium battlefield, and as he yelled, red fire blasted everywhere in a whirlwind of power that almost blew Roy away, having to shield himself.

At this, Tendo closed his eyes as he heard the shout, and gave a slight nod, as Peach and Toadsworth again cheered.

Roy stared at Mario, and for a moment, saw the shadow of a black, red eyed Mario figure shadowing his fiery aura….. then it was gone. Roy's eye's widened, and a smirk crossed his face. He drew his sword back and pointed the tip behind him. The sword ignited with quick bursts of a jet like fire.

"Now we see what we both are truly made of." He twirled the sword around his arm, and got into a battle stance.

The aura around Mario increased, and Mario took off at Roy with flames surrounding him, and leaped at Roy, and punched at him, as Roy jetted out of the way with his sword, then instantly changed directions.

He swung at Mario, but Mario blocked adeptly, and retaliated with several fiery punches. Roy blocked two, and jetted into the air with the last one, and swung down at Mario's head, but Mario slid out of the way, hopped up, and with a yell, punched the ground, sending a column of flame straight at Roy, who pointed his sword backwards, and jetted right through it.

He shouted, and thrusted his blade at Mario, who blocked; but the force from the blow pushed them both into the air above. Both flames expanded outwards, as they both clashed quickly across the air above, back and forth with Roy moving across the air quickly with his sword's jet fire, and Mario following with his flames.

Roy then struck down at Mario's head, bashing Mario to earth, but before Mario hit the ground, he landed on his feet in a crouch, a small crater forcing its way outwards around and beneath him. He jetted down, using his speed, to increase the force and swung at Mario's head again, but Mario retaliated with a brutal hammer strike that sent a fiery vortex ripping up the ground.

Both he and Roy were expulsed backwards; and both landed on their feet. But, the moment Mario hit the ground, his flaming aura expanded outwards voraciously. In a flash, he was in front of Roy, and hit him with the hammer, once, twice, then three times, spinning once to hit once more, and then another.

Roy was being hit too hard and quick to react. Mario swung faster and faster, gaining centrifugal force until finally, his hammer caught fire. He yelled, "Wa-HOOOOO!", As he spun rapidly with the blazing hammer driving Roy further and further back, tearing up the ground around them. Then, Mario broke out of the spin.

Time seemed to slow, and the pressure around Mario condensed. As he spun one final time, he gathered the centrifugal speed of the turn. The ground cracked beneath him as he pivoted.

Roy's eyes widened in shock, as he could do nothing to guard or defend himself, as Mario cried, "Game over!" and swung his hammer into Roy's stomach at full force, blasting Roy backwards across the terrain with a force that seemed to go through the air itself, and fire blew outwards from the recoil that scorched the landscape surrounding them.

A bright light erupted from the center of the battlefield, and at this point, the portal that the spectators and Tendo were viewing shattered with energy, and a light flashed outward from that center. Peach cried out, and shielded her eyes, along with Toadsworth and the spectators. Tendo stared straight ahead into the light as it slowly dissipated…..and there stood Mario and Luigi, standing side by side, as if that was part of the plan from the beginning.

Peach gasped in happiness, and the smoke continued to clear, revealing Roy and Marth, in crouches. Roy picked up his fallen sword, staring straight at Mario, who was still in his fire form. Marth stared straight at Luigi, and returned the look in turn. The tension in the air was thick. Then Mario spoke.

"You-a said we didn't belong here-a." Mario turned to look at Luigi, who kept staring forward.

Roy and Marth still looked forward, and slowly stood straight up.

"Then by all means…" spoke Roy quietly, and he flashed his blade back, his eyes glinting. "Prove me wrong."

Mario and Luigi's eyes widened, and they suddenly both powered up, a vortex ripping up the ground, as Mario's fire swirled around the stadium, and Luigi's pressure and small arcs of lightning ripped the ground apart.

As if in response, Roy and Marth suddenly powered up as well, sending shockwaves across the ground. Roy's sword ignited with an intense flame that rose into the air itself, and fire tore across the ground, while Marth's sword and body was surrounded with a fluid blue aura that lanced across the arena.

All four of their aura's got stronger and stronger, as debris began to slowly rise into the air.

Tendo looked down, and thought, "This is it…. It all ends right here." Peach crossed her fingers in prayer, as the wind blew her hair back, and Toadsworth held on for dear life as the wind picked up.

For a moment, all four figures stared at each other's counterparts. Then, Mario and Luigi took off right at Marth and Roy, who took off right back at Mario and Luigi. As they drew nearer and nearer, there aura's grew brighter and brighter with every step.

"Luigi!" cried Mario.

"Mario!" cried Luigi.

They both hopped into the air, and both of their energies pulsed outwards, and they shouted, "HERE WE GO-A!", and they collided with one another.

The spectators watched as the brothers grabbed each other's feet and respective hands to become a single spinning ball of destruction that mixed both their separate energies into one bright sparkling light.

Roy roared a wordless shout, and his entire body caught fire as he sped up to meet the brother's challenge, and Marth yelled as the blue energy consumed his entire body: they both took a final step, and their energies combined. In a vicious reaction, they both sliced forward simultaneously, sending an 'X' shaped force of glowing energy, and the ball that was the Mario bros. blitzed forward in a burst of unbelievable speed, tearing up the arena.

Then the two collided. The reaction was tremendous, ripping up the air and arena itself in a dome of sheer destructive power, that engulfed the arena, the stands, even the outer surrounding area. Peach screamed as she was engulfed by the power, along with Toadsworth, as Tendo gazed forward unmoving as he, too, was engulfed. The dome grew for a moment, and then, exploded and dispersed outwards, wiping out the very area itself.

First, there was a silence, as the power dispersed throughout the area. Then, the dust slowly cleared, revealing Tendo, still standing, watching the arena. His clothes weren't even dirty.

Peach was frozen in a cringing phase, her eyes shut tightly, but then she blinked, and looked around. All the spectators were completely safe, albeit looking surprised. The smoke still hadn't cleared from the arena itself, which hadn't been spared from the collision force. As the smoke continued to evaporate, they realized it was even more battered and broken than before. Then, the dust blew away completely with a gust of wind, revealing….Marth and Roy were on the ground, swords out of their hands.

While not unconscious, they both couldn't, despite their trying, stand up. However, Mario and Luigi were nowhere to be seen.

Peach gasped, and the spectators were whispering. Then from the sky, a figure came into view…then a second. Peach glanced up, and her eyes teared at the sight. The spectators shouted, pointing into the sky above, and Tendo looked up, and smiled. Toadsworth let out a cheer, and fell to his knees, crying... and Mario flipped, and landed on his feet in a crouch, with Luigi right beside him; albeit the green brother landed on his face. Mario stood up slowly in his regular clothes; his fire form had been lost. Luigi also got up, chuckling embarrassingly. The arcs of lightning that had permeated his body were no more.

For a moment, there was a complete silence. Then, the spectators let out a roar of approval, cheering loudly, shaking the stadium with their cheers. Toadsworth was in tears with pride, clapping himself, and Peach just looked down, and smiled at both of them.

Tendo closed his eyes, and smirked, crossing his arms.

"So that's how it is, hm?" he thought, as Mario and Luigi walked forward to the fallen Marth and Roy. They stopped a foot in front of them, and there was a pause….then Mario extended his hand to Roy. Luigi did the same to Marth.

For a moment, Roy looked genuinely surprised. Then, he actually smiled, and took it, and with Mario's help, stood up. Marth did the same.

Roy closed his eyes, still smiling, and said, "I guess I was wrong. You took everything I had, and returned it to me full force." Marth nodded, smiling as well, looking at Luigi with new respect.

Mario and Luigi both smiled, as Tendo appeared in the arena. Roy and Marth turned, picking up their respective swords. Roy sheathed his, and nodded at Mario.

"You win, Mario."

Marth also sheathed his blade, and said, "Well done, Luigi."

Tendo then stepped forward. "Nice job, both of you teams; on another note, I'm glad I upped the shields around this place…but then again it was already fortified….but it's whatever, I guess."

He stopped, seemingly realizing he was rambling.

Now….Mario and Luigi." Tendo turned, and smirked. "What do you both –" Then Tendo cut short, as he felt something. His head snapped up, and his eyes widened.

For a moment, Mario didn't understand, and he mimicked Tendo's look up….his eyes widened, and he gasped. Luigi's mouth gaped, as he too saw. The sky had turned dark red and cloudy, and small dark purple sphere's rained from the sky above.

"What's happening?!" cried Peach. Toadsworth shrugged a panicked shrug, and attempted to hide. Lightning flashed as the sphere's rained on the arena and the surrounding area…..and then the spheres began to coalesce into separate strange looking creatures.

The spectators began to run out of the stadium, screaming in panic and fear.

"It's begun….and so soon?!" Muttered Tendo in shock.

Then he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and fell to his knees. "Tendo!" cried Mario and Luigi, and they both got into battle stances. Roy grimaced, ad re-drew his blade, along with Marth. It seemed that the tournament, despite officially ending, was far from over, as the brothers stared directly into the eyes of the forming army.


	8. Chapter 8

"No!" cried Peach, still hiding with Toadsworth.

She could feel the four's injuries, and knew none of the four could last long in another battle; but she could only watch as the purple sphere's continued to consolidate into the large force that now surrounded them all.

Countless creatures began to swarm Mario and Luigi, Roy and Marth, and even as they fought back valiantly, they began to suffer the after effects of the match. No matter how many they defeated, they would disintegrate back into purple spheres and more creatures would re-appear.

Tendo was on his knees, struggling, and Peach turned. She didn't know what had injured him, but she could somehow sense waves of distress cascading off his person.

"Tendo!" she cried, beginning to move towards him. He looked at her, and Peach recoiled at the fierce look he shot at her.

"Don't move!" he roared, before he cringed again, keeling over towards the ground.

Peach drew back immediately.

"If only I could just…." Tendo thought in pain. He struggled to lift his hand, and snapped his finger, though the action seemed to take quite a bit of effort. Some of the creatures turned, and dived at the fallen figure, apparently recognizing his presence and weakness all at the same moment. Within an instant, they closed the distance between them and him, preparing to strike.

"Damn…!"muttered Roy, seeing Tendo in harms way.

He leapt forward, attempting to cut off the strike, but he was instantly impeded by more creatures, condensing from the purple fog.

Tendo couldn't even seemingly lift a finger to stop the strikes; and the creatures attacked… but

suddenly, they were sliced apart. More creatures leaped forward, but were cut apart just as suddenly, a familiar green suited figure appeared, his sword drawn. With little effort, the figure dispatched of the creatures surrounding Tendo, leaping into the fray alongside Mario and his brother.

"About time," spoke Tendo, mustering a small smirk.

Mario happily cried, "Link!"

Link gave a small smile, and brandished his blade, ready for battle, Zelda at his side. More creatures appeared, but a cry was heard, as from the outskirts, as a small pink figure leaped from the stands, in his sword form, slicing through creatures, as Metaknight dived through the arena at top speed, cutting through creatures at top speed.

"Looks like the gangs all here…well, most of us anyway." Marth spoke with a small grin on his face.

Before their eyes, more fighters began to show themselves, coming from every which way. A loud screech was heard as both Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong leaped out of the shadows, bashing through the creatures. Fox and Falco both appeared from the air, slicing and blasting through the enemies, and Pikachu and Raichu appeared, calling down lightning, blasting through their foes. Peach also leaped down, and joined the fighters, despite Toadsworth's protests, before Toadsworth was hit over the head by a piece of airborne debris. He fell to the ground softly, as just about every team of fighters assembled in the arena center to make a final stand.

"Heh," Roy chuckled, as he looked around. "I guess if I'm gonna go down, this would be the way to go." He brandished his blade at the shadowy purple enemies around him, as the hulking Donkey Kong beat his chest in defiance, while Diddy kong let out a screech of anger.

Mario nodded, glancing at Peach with a smile. She winked at him, and together, they faced down the amassing enemy hordes.

But, even so, Tendo was still down, struggling.

"I released the healing chambers…."muttered Tendo."But why can't I fight? There shouldn't be anything stopping me… unless…."

Then the sky darkened. A maniacal laugh was heard from the surrounding sky, and Tendo's eyes widened: he recognized the laugh.

"No way…" he thought. "That's impossible!"

The fighters all looked around, wondering where the sound had come from. Then, the ground began to shake. If the air could somehow change, it did, and every single last fighter felt it. Mario couldn't explain the feeling, but he knew that what was happening was….indescribable. In the pit of his stomach, he felt a force that he had never felt before, but somehow had always been there. And it scared him.

He looked at the other fighters, who were also searching for the source of the feeling. He could see in their eyes that they felt the same as he, and lightning cracked across the now darkened skies.

"What….what is that?" asked Fox. He was searching the skies for the source of the anomaly.

Suddenly, Luigi let out a stutter. He began to raise his hand, pointing to the sky. Everyone followed his finger, looking higher and higher; then they saw it.

From the darkness above, a large white glove descended, twitching its fingers. It seemed to radiate an energy and presence beyond any of them, and somehow, the red clad plumber found it to be familiar, though he was too mesmerized to understand where or when he had felt the same thing.

"Mama mia…." whispered Mario.

Kirby let out a scared whimper, as the entity continued to descend.

The other fighters just stared in speechless shock. Even Roy, who had been so confident in their match before seemed to feel the utter difference between himself and the presence that now hovered above.

"What is that thing?" whispered Peach. She took a step back, as if the slightest misstep would cause the hand to fly down and obliterate them.

Tendo spoke quietly, and everyone turned. "You all need to leave. Now. I can't summon the portals to get you out of here, but at least if you flee the stadium you have a chance at survival!"

"What?! You're telling us to just leave and not even try to stop this?!" Roy shouted in anger. His hand clenched on his sword.

Tendo looked up at Roy, and Roy was surprised to see a harsh glare in Tendo's eye.

"You know as well as I do, don't you? You can't stop what stands before you now. Look around."

Mario looked around, and saw to his shock, that all the creatures had stopped moving completely. It's as if they, too, knew not to get in the entity's way.

"This is beyond any of you. Now LEAVE!" Tendo shouted the last word, and a blast of force blew backwards. The Mario brothers were dumbfounded, a sentiment seemingly shared by the rest of the group. None of them moved.

Tendo's eyes narrowed in disbelief. He opened his mouth to say something else, but suddenly, his eyes swiveled towards the sky. From above, the Hand seemed to pulse. As the creature's suddenly evaporated, Tendo's eyes widened in horror.

"NO!" he roared at the sky, but in that moment, it was too late.

At that moment, an incredible wave of force lashed outwards from the entity above, without warning or mercy. It completely obliterated the entire area, arena and all, leaving a wave of complete and total destruction that engulfed all of the fighters and Tendo instantaneously. There was no time to scream, to yell, as it cascaded over the fighters, losing each other in the light of the energy.

The smoke slowly cleared, as the destruction and fire ripped outwards, leaving a trail of annihilation in its wake.

There was no sound….until the moment, when a second later, a sound of chattering teeth seemed to emanate from the smog. Tendo's eyes widened. He was sure that that had been it, and that they all, technically, should have been vaporized on the spot. The smoke slowly lifted, and to Tendo's shock, he saw….

"Mama Peach!"

"Mama Peach!"

Tendo's eyes widened, as he saw Peach on her knees, coughing, but alive! In front of the fighters were the two glowing orbs he had seen before, during the semifinals.

Peach let out a cough of pain, on and muttered, "C-Crea? Prea?"

"We knew you were in trouble." responded Crea.

Tendo couldn't believe what he was hearing. She had left those two in the Kingdom Castle, from what he heard. There was no way they could have gotten here alone, without his portals….right?

Then, the red orb hovered over to Tendo's face. As Tendo stared at the figure, showering him with a dim red light, he began to feel something: something strangely familiar, yet completely different.

"What….what are you?"

He realized how idiotic that sounded the moment he said it, but the orb seemed to pay it no mind.

"Don't worry. You helped us, so we'll help you! Sorry we couldn't save everyone though…."

Tendo looked around, and was stupefied. Some of the fighters were unconscious, others were merely on the ground, struggling to move.

"Did you do this…?" he asked, seemingly in a strange combination of wonder and shock. "But…-

"AAAND we brought help!" Prea cut him off before he could continue, and flew into the smoke, giggling.

Tendo was completely dumbfounded. This was conflicting with everything he knew to be possible. Obviously, the 'law' was still in effect, which is why he was so weak. But….how could those two sphere's block a strike from…from….

And then, the youth saw the third figure with them: a figure he had never seen before.

An armored figure clad in red stood along with Prea as the smoke cleared. Tendo could tell the figure was a powerful one, yet he didn't recognize him whatsoever: and the fact that he didn't recognize him meant something much larger was going on.

"Z-Zero…" muttered Mario, still on the ground, conscious, but lying on the ground ragged.

Zero glanced backwards at the fallen warriors.

Tendo gazed at him and the baby elves, his mind working furiously, trying to figure out what he was missing.

Zero caught Tendo's stare, and stared back, the two seemingly analyzing each other. Then, the red reploid turned his head, to survey his surroundings.

High in the skies, the hand-like entity still hovered above, emitting a menacing presence. His fingertips began to glow in a blue light. It was clearly preparing to strike, and the air around the fighters seemed to stagnate.

"Stay here," spoke Zero, and he stepped forward…but he staggered before regaining his ground.

In that instant, Tendo understood that this 'Zero' had been hit with the aftereffects of the energy wave as well. He was standing, but Tendo could tell he was injured. But why was he fighting for them? It was an impossible match-up.

Some of the conscious fighters saw Zero stepping forward, and seemed to reach the same conclusion as Tendo.

"W-wait-a!" cried Luigi, as well as Peach. "You can't fight him! He'll obliterate you!"

Tendo, again, attempted to get to his feet. It seemed just utterly wrong to him, that this newcomer would fight a battle that didn't concern him; his body spasmed as he struggled under the invisible constraints of whatever held him in place.

"Look! This isn't your fight!" he muttered, struggling.

Zero stopped moving, and turned to Tendo, the two glared into each other's eyes. Zero them smirked, surprising Tendo.

"That sounds like my problem, not yours. Just stay down…"

He turned to Peach, and spoke quietly, "Keep them safe."

Peach's eyes widened, as Zero took a final step, and then prepped his sword, and stood stalwart, alone, against entity, whose fingertips glowed brighter.

"…" muttered Tendo. He looked up, and the entity flexed its fingers back. Zero drew his blade back, and his eyes narrowed, as his adversary fired five colossal lasers, one from each finger and his thumb.

Zero rose his blade, and swung at each laser. The collision sent wind ripping through the vortex, and Zero clenched his teeth as he blocked, the force pushing him back….then the Z saber then began to crack. Zero's eyes narrowed as the blade continue to crack, as pieces of his armor body began to chip and fly off, as the lasers increased in pressure…..

Tendo could only watch the light show in front of him, and he clenched his eyes in regret.

As Zero stood in an intense stalemate against the entity, he closed his eyes for a moment, as if reflecting on his actions. A small smile crossed his face, and then, his eyes popped open. With a final shout, he swung his blade through the lasers. They let out a crackling sound, the light exploded outwards, blasting Zero backwards across the terrain. His saber shattered, and he hit the ground, unmoving.

Peach's eyes were wide with horror at the sight, but the lasers 'remains' curved and arced outwards, not completely eradicated. Despite Zero's efforts and sacrifice, he had only taken the brunt of the blow, and the remains spiraled around, threatening to fry the remaining fighters.

Tendo's eyes widened with horror, and time seemed to slow as the lights cascaded around him. He couldn't do anything to save them. The entire tournament had been utterly meaningless…He had thought he could prepare them in time, but…

The two Baby elves, Crea and Prea, both gasped. Without a moment's hesitation, they moved in front of the fallen warriors, and with a shout, erected powerful barrier of light. Tendo watched as the barrier protected the fighters from the rays; but at a cost. The two elves were left completely defenseless. The lasers were diverted, but only after they ripped through the two Baby Elves.

Peach fell to her knees, her eyes still wide. She at the destruction that surrounded her: Zero lay there unmoving, either unconscious or dead. The Baby Elves were hovering there, glinting weakly. Peach could tell they were in critical condition. She began to sob, the hope draining from her body.

Tendo watched, the events replaying in his mind. He saw the elves sacrificing themselves, the reploid falling, and the fighters assembling, all for the sake up protecting each other. He began to clench his fist, grinding his teeth together. He punched the ground, once, then twice, and the ground shook jarringly.

Mario, for the first time, felt an intense energy directly to his side. He couldn't understand how he didn't feel it before; it was jarringly powerful. He turned, and saw Tendo, on his knees, shaking. Coming off his person was a wispy silver sheen, as if something was bubbling under the surface.

The entity above seemed to feel the pressure change. It drew upwards, and arced its fingers into a familiar shape: a handgun, the formation a child might make when pretending to shoot at something in a game. Energy began vortexing around its index finger, as it collected more and more energy.

Mario looked up at the entity above him, watching it gather energy. As he looked at it, he realized something, something in his core that he couldn't understand, but he KNEW the figure somehow. Unbidden, its name came to his lips.

"Master Hand."

Maybe he couldn't win, and maybe it was pointless. But as he looked to his sides, saw Peach crying, his brother on the ground, and the rest of the fallen fighters around him, he knew, he'd rather go down fighting. He turned to Luigi, and to his surprise, he saw Luigi attempting to get to his feet, as if he was sharing the same thought. As Mario continued to look around, he saw other fallen fighters all seemingly trying to do the same as the Mario Brothers. Mario, through the pain, smiled, knowing he was making the right choice. He began to struggle to his knees….but was cut off.

"No, Mario."

Mario's eyes widened, and he turned in the direction of the voice, to see Tendo. His head was down, so Mario couldn't see his eyes. But he drew back as an arc of undeniable power surged forward, cascading around him. His turned in shock, as he realized something: The energy coming off Tendo was exactly the same as the enemy that hovered above.

"T-Tendo?" asked Mario, tentatively.

"This one…..is mine."

At that moment, light splintered, and then shattered off of Tendo's body, as if he were casting off invisible shackles as he stood to his feet, blasting back an inconceivable amount of force. Mario was almost forced backwards by the force, and Peach looked up, just in time to shield herself.

Mario was dumbfounded at the sight before him. Tendo was completely different than before. The red plumber had known that Tendo for some reason couldn't move before, and seemed to be in pain. But at this point, he seemed to have casted that all aside. Around him, debris slowly rose from the ground, and splintered under the sheer magnitude of the silver energy that surrounded him.

"Screw the laws. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let all of you die just because I'm in a little pain. Pathetic…"

Tendo closed his jet black eyes and chuckled, shaking his head in disdain.

Mario could only stutter as he stared. He noticed that the silver energy was rippling around him, Peach, Luigi, and every other fighter there, wrapping all of them in a soothing light.

If anything, the hand above them felt the energy collecting from the ground, and the energy around its index finger spiraled more radically, becoming larger and larger.

"I gotta say…it's been awhile, Master Hand. I had hoped peace would last a little bit longer, but I guess his influence over you was bound to resurface at some point."

Tendo spoke upwards towards the sky, and Mario realized he was talking to the hand.

"I appreciate your restraint, though. I know you could have destroyed all of these guys immediately if you were completely under…but you're self-control is weakening. So, regardless of the consequences, I'm gonna stop you right here!"

As Tendo roared these final words, his silver aura exploded outwards, sending a column of light into the sky, parting the clouds. Mario, through the light, noticed Tendo's eyes. Somehow, they had changed: they weren't jet black any more, but a shining silver, marked with the same insignia he had seen on the letter at the beginning of his adventure: the oval split into 4 parts that formed a misshapen 't'.

Tendo turned, and looked at the fallen Baby Elves. He smiled, finally understanding what he had failed to get before: young as they were, they were just like him.

"Peach, Mario, Luigi. Keep them safe while they recover. They won't die, but they're important. Your relationship with them will define them in ways they can't understand….after all, deities don't just grow on trees. They're almost exactly like me, and the hand up there!"

Peach didn't say a word, staring at Tendo like he was a ghost, completely unnerved at the implications of what he was saying. All she could do was nod, as the silver energy kept cascading over all the fighters in shimmering rays, creating a shield.

Every fighter was speechless, as they began to awake, healed by the rays of Tendo's aura. They were silent as Tendo continued speaking.

"Mario Brothers…congrats on the win. As for your prize….this isn't the time or place for it, so I'd appreciate a rain check."

He laughed, even as the wind picked up, and the sky grew darker around the pilar of energy Tendo was creating. The Master Hand seemed to grow restless, as the aura around its index finger became even more powerful. It let out a roar, and drew back further, seemingly aiming itself directly at the group below.

"Tell 'Zero' and the two elves I said thanks when they wakes up. And don't worry, we'll see each other again. Or, I'll see you. Well, most of you…."

He shook his head sadly, knowingly, but he still smiled, and for the first time, Mario and Luigi realized several competitors were missing, Ganondorf, Mewtwo, Wario, Waluigi, even Bowser and his son.

Tendo smiled, and he began to rise, floating into the air.

"Fight well. I know you can defeat him."

The fighters said nothing, and Tendo turned, and said, "Now."

He drew his arms back, and clenched his fists.

"Let's finish this."

Tendo's silver energy vortexed with even more intensity, blasting the air, and seemingly the very space itself ripped apart. The energy around Master hands finger condensed, and lightning crackled as he fired a colossal blue beam of energy from his fingertips straight at the group, and Tendo drew his arms back, and with yell, fired a great beam of silver energy from both hands. They were the two largest energy beams Mario had ever seen, and Luigi's jaw dropped a few more feet, but this time, the action was duplicated by his red clad brother. As the beams drew nearer and nearer, space seemed to spiral out of focus, and as the fighters were all lifted in the air, away from the vicinity, until both beams finally collided at full force…. Space itself shattered apart, and all the fighters were thrown into nothingness.

Mario's eyes slowly opened, and he awoke to find himself in a completely open field, the sun shining: a cloudless, beautiful day. He shook his head to clear it, and look around, to see all the fighters that had stood with them in battle in the arena, even Toadsworth.

For the first time, and a brief moment, he wondered what had happened to the fighters who had fought in the tournament, but didn't show their faces in the clash that had just occurred. When Tendo had mentioned not seeing some of them, he had looked sad, as if something bad had happened…. but he pushed it away. He took a look to his side.

Zero, and the Baby elves were still shrouded in the silver energy; it seemed to be protecting them until they received proper treatment. But as Mario looked at himself, he was surprised to see he was completely healed, and even his clothes were fixed. The other fighters, Peach and Toadsworth slowly started to get up, and realized the same thing.

Luigi looked around in fear, clearly wondering what happened. Peach let out a cry when she saw Mario, and wrapped him up in a big hug…. But she cried when she saw Crea and Prea, as well as Zero in their conditions, and ran over to them, with Toadsworth accompanying her.

Then a voice spoke, "Mario."

Mario turned, and saw Roy. "What just happened…with Tendo?"

Mario sighed, and as the fighters gathered around, he told them what happened with Tendo, and what he had said. Kirby made a questioning sound.

"A….deity?" asked Fox, clearly shocked.

"From what Mario has said….it appears this tournament might have been a bigger endeavor than we thought," said Metaknight. He had his arms crossed, and looked slightly angry.

"Could Tendo have been….a god of some type?"

Some figures shook their heads in disbelief, but most other fighters just looked shocked.

"So…the entity that attacked us… we assume that it was of the same type," said Marth. He clenched his fist, and looked down. "After all…..it easily tore through all of us."

"But why? It makes no sense." replied Falco. "A 'god' holding a tournament? For what purpose?"

"He's-a preparing us for something-a." spoke Mario, quietly.

The fighters stopped speaking. They all remembered the words Tendo had aimed at all of them…. 'Fight well. I know you can defeat him.'

"Could he have meant that Hand?" asked Peach.

Kirby made a quiet sound, looking downcast, and Metaknight nodded slightly. Everyone shared the same feeling as Kirby….that Master Hand was not the 'him' Tendo had spoken about. There was a brief silence.

"So….what's the plan now, masters?" asked Toadsworth from the side, uttering his first words since he was knocked out during the final conflict. He and Peach were looking at them, clearly having heard all of what was said.

"That's easy," spoke Roy. "We train and get stronger. And we prepare for this threat that Tendo mentioned, so we can actually do something the next time this 'Master Hand' attacks."

Marth nodded, a hand on his blade's hilt. Fox clenched his fist, and nodded, and Falco smirked.

Pikachu and Raichu cried, "Chu!"

Link nodded and smiled, and Zelda did the same, and Kirby leaped into the air, looking happy. Metaknight gave the slightest of nods, and Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong clapped their hands. Luigi, looking frightened, but determined, nodded. Mario smiled and rose his fist.

As if the answer to the group's determination and answer, suddenly, in a circle around them, different portals appeared in front of each of the teams. There was something familiar about the portals: none of the fighters were frightened by their sudden appearance. In fact, it was as if the lingering spirit of Tendo was beckoning them back home.

"….I think this is how we get to our homes," spoke Peach.

Roy turned to the portal behind him. As he began to walk forward, he suddenly stopped.

He turned to Mario.

"Remember the letter we all got at the start of this?" he asked. Mario paused. "It said, 'greetings from various worlds'. We're all connected now, as one great world…and these portals prove it."

He paused and continued, "Mario, today you bested me in battle."

He glanced back, and there was a genuine smile on his face. "Stay sharp….until our rematch."

And he stepped into the portal, after Marth smiled and nodded at Luigi, and followed Roy, and they both vanished from sight. The portal expanded, and then dispersed.

One by one, the fighters went into their respective portals, paying each other their respects before leaving. Peach and Zelda seemed to have forged a quick friendship, and smiled and waved at each other, while Link smiled, and gave a thumbs up to Mario and Luigi before they both disappeared, along with their portal.

Kirby leaped on Mario's head, picked up his cap, and wore it for a bit happily, before dancing off, waving to Mario and Luigi, before bounding into his portal. Metaknight gave a respectful nod to all of them before he followed Kirby…until only Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toadsworth, and the other fallen figures of Zero, Crea, and Prea were the only ones left. Peach sighed, but then smiled.

"Mario…Luigi…I'm so proud of you both…"

Mario nodded and smiled along with Luigi.

"Likewise, young masters." Said Toadsworth, with a prod of his cane. Then he turned to the figures of the broken Zero and others. "We'll get the good Professor Gadd to fix them up lickity split! If anyone can, it's him."

Mario nodded, along with Luigi. "Now…..let's go home." Peach spoke, still smiling, holding out her hand. Mario paused, and looked back to the scenery and stared into the distance. Luigi noticed, and did the same. The two brothers had been through so much within the past few days; and it looked as though it was going to be over soon. But despite that…the two had no regrets.

"_We won't see each other for a while….but someday, we'll meet again."_

Mario then turned, smiled, and with Luigi, Peach, and Toadsworth, holding Zero, Crea, and Prea, jumped into the final portal, finally closing behind them.

**The End of Series One: See Epilogue!**


	9. Chapter 9: Epilogues

_Author's notes: Hello there! Well, this is the last chapter, the epilogues. On an other note, this is also where the legit 'crossover aspect begins. Honestly, it would be more appropriate to call this entire beginning series the prelude to the actual storytelling, considering a lack of well...story. But, thanks for going this far. Enjoy!_

* * *

Epilogue #1

Peach walked slowly down her castle corridors, searching for Mario and Luigi. It had been two weeks since they had returned home to the Mushroom Kingdom from the Tournament.

The first thing they had done was to go to the house/laboratory of the Kingdom professor and scientist, Professor Elvin E. Gadd. Originally, he had said that the technology for all three was unlike anything he had ever seen…but an idea from Mario and Peach solved that issue. They had managed to reverse engineer the receiver on Zero's arm, hook it to a screen, and managed to contact the person Zero had previously spoken to during their first encounter, Dr. Ciel.

The initial 'first contact' was dwarfed by the fact they realized their contact was apparently far removed from the traditional international phone call, but, eventually, they began to get used to the idea of other worlds out there. Peach, of course, completely understood, and all of this made sense to her, but Proffessor Gadd became the happiest man within the Kingdom gates, being able to work with technology from another area far beyond his own.

Of course, Peach had been surprised to see that the supposed scientist was actually a little girl. But she was happy to see that, after Ciel's initial hysteria and worry about Zero and the elves, she and Proffessor Gadd hit it off in an attempt to fix all three. She, Mario, and Luigi, could only watch in amazement as the two quickly drafted the blueprints for a reploid and cyber elf hibernation chamber, in which they could be healed and kept safe. In the next few days, Ciel was already supervising E. Gadd's building of both devices, offering helpful bits of information to keep the process moving. In the next week, both devices had been completed, and were operating at full capacity, one housing Zero, and the other housing the two elves.

"Neither I, nor Miss Ciel can predict when they will be fully healed." Gadd had said, "But rest assured, princess, they'll be fine."

Peach had smiled in relief, and while she had turned away, Ciel (on screen) had bashfully thanked her.

"Umm…..thank you so much for all your help…." said Ciel. She was blonde, and had a strange pink and white helmet on the back of her head, along with shining blue eyes. She wore a pink dress, along with short heels. She raised her head and had went on.

"Will you please thank Mr. Mario and Mr. Luigi for me as well? Proffessor Gadd and I are already working on the blueprints for a transporter that can safely bring Zero back to us….maybe I can thank you all in person then!"

She had finished with a smile.

Peach nodded and had said, "Of course! We'd be honored."

Ciel seemed to relax and breathed deeply, as Peach had left.

As Peach remembered this, she still searched for Mario and Luigi. She hadn't heard from any of the other fighters, but she was positive that she would see them again. She knew what they were all definitely connected, as things like the tournament are never coincidence.

She turned a corner to see Mario and Luigi, training in the great Ballroom. For a moment, she smiled, but then remembered why she had to find them. She had forgotten to tell them something important, something Tendo had given her much earlier in the tournament. "Mario! Luigi!" Mario and Luigi stopped and turned to Peach. "I have something that I think you both should see…."

Epilogue #2

Far, far away, a ship flew through the astral beauty of a seemingly endless space. In it, there were three figures, two of them were animals, seemingly chipmunks in appearance.

"I can't locate this 'New world' you said the ship picked up!" cried one, with a black nose.

"Me neither!" shouted the other, and this one had a red nose.

A few feet away, sat a boy with spiky brown hair, wearing strange clothes.

"Are you sure the ship picked up something, Sora?" asked both of them simultaneously.

"I'm positive! Chip, Dale, the Gummi ship hasn't failed to pick up a world yet! You should know that…" the boy, Sora, said with a laugh.

The chipmunks pouted, and said, "But…", but neither of them didn't have a retort for that comment.

Sora laughed, but then pondered, "Maybe I should have brought Donald and Goofy….I thought this was just gonna be a little mission to somewhere we've already seen." He thought that he would've been finished by now, and back on Destiny Islands with his friends, but that seemingly wasn't the case.

Then Chip shouted, "Sora! We've found something!"

Sora snapped out of it, and got up.

"What happened?"

"I think we've found your mystery world!" said Dale.

Sora got up, and looked out the window….and sure enough, a small world in the distance was slowly coming into view.

"Wow…" said Sora, as seeing a world from a distance never ceased to amaze him. While he was looking, the chipmunks were looking over some files, whispering.

"Ummmm… Sora. We have something you should see." said one. Sora turned questioningly.

"These charts have recorded every world we've visited within the gummi ship."

Sora nodded and took them. "But what we're seeing….it's new!"

"What?" asked Sora, clearly not understanding.

"We can't explain it….." started Dale.

"But basically, this world wasn't here before!" finished Chip.

"Wait…..what does that mean?" asked Sora, in trepidation.

"We don't-" Suddenly, the ship's lights started flashing red, and the gummi ship began to shake. Sora fell to his knees, and both chipmunks were shaken from the controls due to the violent turbulence.

'W-What's happening?!" shouted Sora.

"W-we've somehow lost control!" cried Dale. The ship began to shake even more violently, and suddenly, a loud roar was heard, and one ships of the ships' engines sputtered out.

"What was that?!" cried Dale.

"Hold on!" shouted Sora as the ship began to spiral out of control, careening into the darkness of the void.

_**To be continued….**_

_**Thank you for reading!**_


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